The Dawn of a New Adventure
by Necro Z
Summary: AU Story: Due to the use of fake transcripts, Jaune Arc has been expelled from Beacon Academy. Unable to face his family due to the shame he has brought them, Jaune takes a Bullhead to Mistral only for it be shot down by lightning. Waking up as the only survivor on an uncharted island with an alcoholic woman as his only company, what is our favorite Arc going to do?
1. Chapter 1

So here is the full chapter. There were one thing that I forgot to clarify in this chapter. This is set four years before the canon of One Piece. Jaune is still inexperience and not that great of a fighter yet, so he is going to need some time before he is ready to set sail.

Now that I got that out of the way, enjoy.

 _Well Shit._

Were the first thoughts that went through the mind of Jaune Arc as he fell into the raging waters below him.

This week has not been kind to Jaune whatsoever. Why might you ask? Well getting expelled from Beacon and having to come back home to a pissed off family with your tail between your legs is not a situation that anyone wants to be in. Jaune knew of the consequences and so he devised a plan B. He knew that he probably has brought shame upon his family, and they won't be particularly happy to see him when he gets home. That's why he planned on not going home at all.

His plan was to take a Bullhead to Mistral and start a new life, because his chances of being a hunter were shot to hell. His name is probably known to all hunters and hunter schools as the kids who forged transcripts in to Beacon. He mailed Crocea Mors and his armor back home, not having enough courage to face his family himself. He boarded the Bullhead and as per usual his motion sickness kicked in, making this a not so fun ride. To take his mind off of the discomfort from his stomach, he thought about his was simple, get to Mistral, get a new identity, and find a place to live and stable job. He had saved up enough money to last him half a year. As of now everything was going according to plan. What was not in his plan was for the Bullhead he was in to get destroyed by lighting.

' _How can lightning be strong enough to destroy a Bullhead,'_ Jaune thought as he his hit the water.

The force of hitting the water almost knocked him out, but thanks to his aura he was still conscious to swim up to the surface for air. Getting air was a challenge due to waves the size of house trying to engulf him. As the waves thrashed him around, crashed into some scrap metal from the destroyed aircraft and climbed on. He was holding on for dear life and riding the waves as they were still tossing him around. As he rose up in the air on one wave, he came down a lot faster than he expected, his head rocked with the raft making his face to hit the surface. His vision was hazy and after few seconds, it was dark.

-The day after-

The storm has passed over and now the sun shines brightly in the sky for all to see. On an island of unknown origin lays a body that was washed to shore by the storm. The inland is a tropical forest full of life, chirps from different animals can be heard in a cacophonous harmony. A crab burst out of the sand and scuttles towards the shore only to see a body accompanied with a sleeping face impede his progress. Angered, the crab lashes out and grips the cheek, causing for the awakened person to rise up and scream in panic while frantically trying get the crab away from his ear.

Once the crab was released, he set it down and watched it scuttle to the ocean. He sat down on the sand and let out a long sigh. It was Jaune, and he was alive.

 _'_ _Where am I?'_ Jaune wondered. ' _Wait…WHERE AM I?'_ Jaune thought again, but this time with more panic in his voice.

These thoughts caused for Jaune to run to the sea to see if he could make out any landmasses. He saw nothing. The panic rose within his body because his situation was becoming clear to him. He went inland to find a vantage point thinking that he may be able to see something from a bird's eye view. Finding the biggest tree that he could find at the moment, he climbed with urgency to the top. As he reached the top, he looked out and still couldn't see anything still. Jaune climbed down from the tree and sat down leaning on it for support to gather his thoughts. As Jaune contemplated he started breathing at an irregular pace, his heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest due to him realizing the reality of his situation.

He's stranded on an island and has no idea whatsoever where he is.

Just as he was about to have a full on panic attack, his growling stomach brought him back to reality. Although his panic hasn't ceased, he realized he's going to need to survive. First things first, he needs to find something edible on this island. Jaune stood up and began to wander the forest to find food.

It only took a few minutes and he found some fruit that like he could eat. The fruit hung low, allowing him to easily pick it. It wasn't like any fruit he has seen before, but he was willing to try it. As he bit into the fruit, an explosion of flavor went throughout his body. He began to bite into the fruit like a rabid animal and before he realized it, he ate the whole fruit.

He wanted more.

He looked up to see that there were tons of other fruit like it. Taking off his hoody and making a makeshift basket out of it, he began to pick all that he could find. Just as he was about to pick another one of the ambrosia like food, a small mass speedily stole the fruit that he was about to pick. Jaune looked at where the perpetrator went and saw that it was a cute little monkey. From the looks of it, it was a young one. Jaune, being the person that he was, took out another of the fruit and gave it to the monkey.

"Hey," he called out. The monkey didn't seem to have noticed him the whole time, but now its attention was fully turned towards him. Jaune lifted up the fruit for the monkey to see and put a friendly smile on his face.

"Do you want another?" He asked. The monkey tilted its head and suddenly let out an ear-piercing screech. Jaune dropped his hood-basket and to cover his ears from the high-pitched screech. Whatever that screech was, it didn't seem good news.

Soon, the sound of shaking trees could be heard and it was getting closer. The sound was coming from all sides. Soon, monkeys a lot bigger than the baby began to appear from the foliage one after another. Jaune's eyes widened and saw the monkeys, all different shapes and sizes, giving him a look that promised pain. He looked back at the baby monkey, to see that it was laughing at his situation.

 _'_ _That little-'_ Jaune thought, but his was interrupted by the monkeys' cacophonus screeches to see that they were rushing at him from all sides. Jaune knew that the only way that he was going to get away was to go through them. He would suffer some injuries from doing so, but it was better than getting mauled to death a bunch of monkeys. Now having a game plan in his head, he charged headfirst in the direction with less monkeys and ran through the crowd.

He was scratched, battened, and pummeled but he made it through alive. Letting his aura circulate through his body, he enough speed to gain distance from the bloodthirsty primates.

-later-

Jaune doesn't know how long he has been running, but he knows that it has been a while. Even though he had an above average amount of aura, he still didn't have much control over it. While he was running out of energy, the monkeys were still running at the same speed since the chase started.

 _'_ _Why the hell are they so persistent?'_ Jaune thought as he looked back at.

Looking ahead he sees and river and quickly crosses it to making sure not to lose speed. He looks back once more to see that the monkeys stopped at the edge of the river. Jaune didn't stop thinkin that they would start chasing him again if he stopped running. What he didn't notice was the look of fear that the monkeys had on their face.

As Jaune kept running and running until his exhaustion caught up to him. He fell into the moist earth. He stayed there for a moment till he pushed himself up and leaned against the nearest tree. Catching his breath and looking around to make sure that no monkeys followed him.

For a long time he just stayed silent. The only thing that he could hear was his breathing and the sounds of nature.

How long did he sit there? An hour? Two? Three? He doesn't know. This was the lowest that Jaune Arc has ever been. He was tired, he was hungry, he was injured, his clothes were still wet from being in the ocean, his dreams were crushed, His family is probably ashamed of him, and he can feel some dirt and sand inside of his mouth. The silence was soon broken by a scream of rage.

"AGHHHH!" Jaune screamed. He was angry, he was frustrated.

"Why?! Why did this have to happen to me?!" He shouted. He started punching the ground, but he still wasn't satisfied. He look up from the ground and saw a tree. Still tired from the chase, he clumsily stood up and threw a rage fueled punch at the tree. Pain shot through his arm. He gripped his hand, holding it close to his body and started crying.

Although his punch was not strong enough to cause any damage to the tree, it was strong enough to knock a fruit out. The fruit hit his head and landed right next to him. His hunger overcoming his rage and sadness, he grabbed the fruit and took a bite out of it.

"It taste like shit," he murmured. Although he said this, he kept eating the fruit.


	2. Chapter 2

There is going to be a poll about what Jaune's devil fruit will be. I already have two choices, which are the Ryuu - Ryuu no Mi (lightning model), or the Oto - Oto no Mi. If you think that you have a better suggestion, then put it in the comments. Give a good description of the devil fruit. I want name, type, powers, weaknesses, and why I should pick this.

I don't know how regularly I am going to update, but I'll try to not space it out. I'm a first year in college, so like I said, I will TRY.

And one other thing. You don't have to, but I would like some feedback on what I could do better in my writing style so I can make the story much livelier and fun for you guys. I enjoy writing this and I want it to be good. So enough of my rambling and enjoy the story.

After eating what was in Jaune's opinion "a shitty fruit," he decided it was time to keep moving forward. Going back wasn't option unless he was tired of living. Jaune went to pick up his hoodie, until he realized he was grabbing nothing but air. He began to frantically search around to find his lost hoodie until it hit him.

"I left it back there with monkeys," said with a shaky voice. His favorite hoodie, his companion that has been with him through thick and thin was gone. It was comfortable, it was cool, it kept him warm.

"FFFFUUUUUUUUUU-," He screamed. A line of curses flew out of the Arc's mouth. Who knew that he had such a colorful vocabulary. He would have continued on his tirade, had he not been interrupted by the sound of loud stomps. It seems someone wasn't pleased with the yelling. The stomps got louder and the ground beneath began to vibrate. Jaune looked in the direction of the sound and saw the outline a giant creature. What was revealed was a giant buffalo as tall as the trees.

Jaune stared at the buffalo in both awe and fear. He was in awe because he has never seen a buffalo of that size, and fear because its anger and frustration seemed to be directed towards him. It blew a breath of hot air out of its mouth into the face of Jaune. Its left front hoof began to scrape at the ground, signifying that it was getting ready to charge.

Due to the immense rage he felt from the colossal beast, Jaune did the only thing that he could think of. And that was to scream and run.

A feminine scream erupted from the mouth of the blonde that could be heard for miles as he ran from the buffalo.

-2 miles from Jaune-

A purple haired woman was taking a stroll, until she stopped when she heard a shriek. She turned her head towards the source of the sound. Her face took on a frown and began to walk towards the source. As she began walking she sighed.

"Haven't even been here for a day and you're already causing trouble," She said in an exasperated voice.

-Back to Jaune-

Jaune was running for dear life weaving through the trees to slow down the buffalo in some way. He thought the trees would help, but it seems that the trees aren't doing anything to slow it down. The only reason that Jaune was alive was his constant turns he made. The buffalo showed no signs of stopping and kept crashing through tree after tree leaving only ruin in its path.

-5 minutes later-

 _'_ _Why is every animal I've met so far, so set on trying to kill me?'_ he screamed in his head. While he was able to recover most of his aura, it still wasn't full and would soon to run out any second. This fact scared Jaune. As he kept running, ahead of his he sees a woman walking toward him at a slow pace.

"RUN!" he shouted at the woman. It seems that she didn't hear or didn't care to listen. He decided to take matters into his own hands and get her out of here. As he got closer, he could see that she was an older woman. Her hair was a luxurious lavender that was tied back into a pony tail. Her skin complexion was a lot darker than his. She wasn't tall, but she wasn't short either. Her face had an angular roundness that was nice to look at. All in all, she was definitely someone that could turn heads.

Once Jaune reached the woman he went to grab her hand and run, but she avoided his hand and knocked him out by striking him on the back of his neck. As the Jaune fell to the ground in an unconscious heap, the woman stood her ground and stared at the buffalo. The buffalo charged at the women in a blind rage, but suddenly it began to lose speed. It stopped in its tracks just inches from the women. Its once rage filled expression morphed into one of fear. The buffalo soon turned around and ran for its life in opposite direction.

As soon as it was out of sight, the woman turned towards the boy and picked him up. She put him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes and began the long trek back to her home.

-A few hours later-

Our favorite blond began to wake up from his comatose state to see that he was in a totally different area. He felt comfortable, more comfortable than he has in a while. He sat up to look around the new environment that he was in. As he was trying to figure out where he was, his thoughts were interrupted by a voice that both rough and smooth at the same time.

"So you're finally awake," said the voice as more of a statement than a question. Jaune's head quickly snapped to the direction of the voice, only to see the woman that had knocked him out sitting down across from him. Now that he got a better look at her, he could see that her eyes were like shimmering amethyst. He wardrobe seemed to be simple only consisting of a blue t-shirt and jean shorts. What caught his attention was the maroon sash that she wore around her waist that seemed to go down to her mid-calf. It bore an intricate pattern painted in a blue that seemed contrast well with the maroon.

"Are you going to say something or are you going to just keep staring at me?" She asked. The Arc sputtered and blushed in embarrassment and began to awkwardly apologize.

"I-I'm sorry…I didn't mean to look at you like that. I just thought that you were pretty…wait I didn't mean that. N-not that you're not pretty, you actually beautiful and that's why I was staring," realizing what he just said. Jaune buried his hands in his face due to total embarrassment.

The still unknown woman didn't think nothing of it and grabbed a tall ceramic bottle with a cork covering it. She pulled the cork from the bottle and took a long drink from the bottle. After 10 seconds of drinking, she took a sharp breath to get air back in her lungs.

"It's no problem," she said simply. She seems like a nice person in Jaune's book. "What I do have a problem with is that you haven't even been on this island for a day, but you've stirred all kinds of trouble by disturbing the animals" She finished. Okay maybe not a nice, as he thought although, she did have a point in that he did cause some trouble since the time he has been here.

 _'_ _Who is she and how did she know how long I have been here?"_ He thought.

"Who are you and How did you know I how long I have been here?" He said voicing his thoughts.

The woman looked at him with the same dull and lifeless look that she has had since he first met her.

"My name is Artelier D. Mana, and how I knew you were here, was because I sensed your presence the moment that you washed ashore," She answered. She took another long drink from bottle.

"You knew that I was here and you didn't come to help me?!" He yelled. If she knew he was here the whole time, why didn't she come to help at all. What kind of person would do that? Jaune was beginning to think that she wasn't as nice of a person that he once thought she was.

"What obligation did I have to help you? You washed up on MY island, and stirred up a lot of trouble with the animals here," she stated. Good job Jaune, you have probably ruined the relationship of the only source of aid you probably have on this island.

"I'm sorry about the trouble I caused, but that doesn't you give you a good reason to not try to help," he said.

"I do what I want, and I didn't feel like helping you. Besides, you made it this far, so you didn't much help in the first place," she calmly said. She now started to take swigs from the bottle instead of long drinks. It seems that he wasn't going to get any sympathy whatsoever from her.

Jaune has had a long and shitty day. A crab put a vice grip on his ear, he got chased for 3 miles by monkeys due to a misunderstanding purposely created by that brat, he got chased by a giant buffalo that tried to kill him just because he disturbed him, and now he is being talked down by this possibly alcoholic woman. While he is thankful to her for saving his life, he was hoping to get some form of sympathy from her. He balled his hands into fist, gripping them to the point that you could see the bone.

"Look, I have had a really shit week. My dreams were crushed, I got shot out of the sky by lightning, I had to hold on for dear life on a piece of metal as I got knocked around by waves, I have been beaten, bitten, and scratched by monkeys, I lost my favorite hoody, I got chased by a giant buffalo, and now I'm getting shit from you," He said with some pent up aggression in his voice.

"Artelier-" he started.

"Mana," She corrected.

"What?" The Arc said surprised.

"Artelier is my last name, my first name is Mana," She said with finality.

"Well…Mana, can you at least give me some form of sympathy," He pleaded. He looked at her with some hope, but all that he saw was the same dull look that she has had from the beginning. She took another swig from the bottle. She really likes to drink?

"How do your problems concern me?" She asked.

The hopeful look that Jaune had was replaced by an expression of despair. He hung his head low and went silent. The woman looked at him, expecting him to say something, but he just stayed silent. She stood up from the chair in the room and walked out. At she was at the threshold of the door she stopped.

"You are welcome to stay here, but you will have to work to earn your keep. You will begin tomorrow," she said. She closed the door and left Jaune to wallow in his sadness. Moments after the door closed, tears began to fall from his eyes.

"Why am I so weak?" he sobbed.

-A week later-

Jaune has gotten somewhat used to life on this island. Although it was hard at first due not having of the technology that he was used to. Mana has a nice collection of books that he would read when he was done with chores for the day. The only thing is that he doesn't know much about Mana. All that he knows is that she is an alcoholic. He sees her with a new bottle every day. Where she gets it, even he doesn't know. She usually tells him where she is going, so if he needs anything, he knows where to find her.

There was one day where she was just gone the whole morning and she didn't come back until late at night. When Jaune saw her, he saw that the area around her eyes were puffed up and red.

 _'_ _She was crying,'_ Jaune thought.

Being the person that he is, Jaune went to ask her what was wrong, but she glared at him and walked away. Seems that she is not much for conversations. Jaune wasn't someone that was willing to give up on helping someone. He was going have to be a little more careful about how he did it.

-3 weeks later-

For the three weeks that he has been here, he noticed that she seems to disappear only on Friday. In his observation, he found that she leaves at the break of dawn. It seems that she didn't want him to know where she was going.

He tried one morning to go follow her, but she must have known since she somehow disappeared into thin air when she made one turn. She must have been a hunter.

It seems that this was going to be a lot harder than he thought, but he was not someone to just give up so easily. Although Mana is pretty cold towards him, she is the reason that he has a roof under his head and can eat a decent meal. He was going to help her, whether she wanted his help or not. He just needed to be sneakier.

_-6 weeks later-

He finally did it. Although it took longer than he expected, he was finally able to find out where she was going. It was secret beach on the island. He expected to maybe see some grave of someone or people that she was mourning. He was right. What he didn't expect to see was a shipwrecked galleon washed ashore. The ship looked like it was worse for wear. In front of the ship, there were twenty wooden memorials made from the wood of the ship lined up horizontally along the beach. Each In front of the memorials, he saw Mana wailing. She was whispering things, but he couldn't make out what she was saying. This was a good chance as any to confront her. He walked from the foliage of the trees and began to walk towards her.

"So this is where you have been going to?" Jaune asked. Mana's head shot up. She turn her head towards him and looked at him with anger in her eyes. Seeing her this angry was a surprise for Jaune. He didn't have time to contemplate it because she suddenly disappeared and the next thing he knew, he was pinned to a tree by nothing but a foot.

"What are you doing here and how come I couldn't sense you?!" She shouted. She pressed her foot harder into his chest for emphasis that she was not looking for any stupid answers.

"I was following you-" Jaune started, but was interrupted.

"I know you were following, but I thought you would have given up seeing how much I didn't want you to know where I was going. I thought you would UNDERSTAND, that I do like my privacy being invaded!" She said raising her voice as she continued talking.

"I knew that, but I couldn't stand around to see someone in pain. I did it because I wanted to help you. I didn't like it that every week you would come back from crying. You need help," Jaune said.

"What if I don't want help?" She asked. Her glare was still just as strong, but she took some of the pressure of his chest.

"I would still try to help you even if you don't want it," he clearly stated. Right now, he was unusually calm. In a situation like this, where a someone has enough leg strength to crush your ribs, you should be pretty scared. He doesn't know why, but he doesn't feel scared of her at all.

"Now we can stay and you keep me pinned here, or you can let me go and we can talk because I'm not giving up anytime soon," he said with finality in his voice.

"I don't like being told what to do," she growled out.

"I'm not telling you what to do, I'm giving you options. So are we going to talk?" he smoothly replied.

Mana stared at him, for a few seconds until she finally released him from the prison that was her foot. Jaune fell forward, due to him unknowingly pushing back. Mana sat down in front of him waiting for him to catch his breath.

"I will talk, but you still haven't answer my other question. How was I not able to sense you?" the alcoholic asked. It's been a long time, since someone was able to evade her senses.

"I really don't know. All I was trying to do was be as sneaky and possible when trying to follow. It was really hard since you evaded me most of the time, but I kept trying at it until I succeeded," Jaune said hoping that, that would answer her question.

Her eyes widened for a second at his answer. Many thoughts began to rush through her head, but her thoughts were interrupted by the voice of her roommate/servant. She brought herself back to reality.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" She asked.

"I was asking if you were ready or if you needed time?" He asked with genuine worry.

"Ask away," she simply said.

AAAAAND, this is where I am stopping this. I don't like cliffhangers either, but the next chapter is probably going to be a lot of them sharing their stories with each other. The next chapter is going to mostly going to be where they will begin to a closer relationship with each other. One more thing. Updates are not going to always be this fast. The only reason why it is this fast is because, I just finished a lot of work that I needed to do.

Well see you guys later in the next chapter.


	3. Bonding and a Deal With The Devil

Hello

I'm here to with another chapter, but before I do that I want to see that maybe sometime in the future, I will probably rewrite some of the chapters. Thanks to a reviewer, I saw that the development in chapter 2 felt rushed and forced. I will do that at later date, but I want to at least get to 5 chapters. The poll is still up, but I may take down the Ryuu-Ryuu no Mi because it seems too Fairy Tail. I may make an executive decision and just choose the fruit myself. If worse comes to worse, I may change it to where Jaune doesn't even have a devil fruit.

This chapter is mostly going to be bonding between Jaune and Mana.

It was still early in the morning. Both Mana and Jaune were sitting crossed legged at the hidden beach. There was an awkward silence between the two. Jaune has finally managed to get her to start talking, but he didn't even know what to say. He decided that maybe he should start with memorials.

"So who were they?" Jaune started. His eyes widened in realizing how tactless what he said was. "Wait, I didn't mean to say it like that. I was just trying to find a way to start the conversation…" Jaune said profusely apologizing. As Jaune kept apologizing, Mana looked at him with annoyance. He didn't even say anything offensive, so why was he apologizing. He was probably not going to be stopping anytime soon.

"They were my crew," She said loudly. It was loud enough to get Jaune to stop talking so they could make some type of progress. "Though they were more than just that. They were the people that I considered my family," She said with a solemn voice.

"So you were a sailor?" Jaune asked.

"No, I was a pirate," Mana replied.

"…what?"

"I was a pirate,"

"Like…criminal of the high seas pirate, pirate?"

"Yeah, that is the definition of a pirate,"

"O-okay then," Jaune said. Mana could tell that he was a little bit uncomfortable. Sitting face to face with a criminal is not something that many people expect to do. It seems that she was going to have to lead this conversation if they were going to get anywhere.

"We may have been considered criminals by the world government, but we weren't bad people," Mana claimed. "You don't have to do much to be considered a criminal. You could be doing good and still get a bounty put on your head."

"What's the world government?" Jaune asked. He knows he is not a person that is the most up to date on the happenings in the world, but a name like The World Government should be something he knows. This question made Mana raise an eyebrow at the question just asked.

"Where are you from?" She asked.

"I'm from Vale," he replied.

"And where is that?

"In Remnant?" Jaune said confused. How could she not know about the Kingdoms of Remnant?

"That explains a lot?" She murmured.

"What?"

"Nothing, we'll talk about that later," She said. "Right now we are talking about something else, and it seems that we keep getting distracted."

"Oh yeah, sorry about that," He apologized. "So how do you want to talk about them?"

"This is a story that will take a while, so how about we head back to the cottage?" She suggested. Jaune answered with a nod and stood with Mana. They both walked back to the cottage in total silence.

-Back at the cottage-

They finally arrived back at the cottage and found comfortable places to sit in the main area of the small house.

"Well," Jaune started. "I'm all ears."

Mana sighed. "I guess the best place to start is the beginning. I was born 34 years to the Artelier family. Most of my family were in the Navy-"as Jaune opened his mouth to ask about what the Navy was, Mana stopped him by saying, "wait till the end and I'll answer any other question you have."

Jaune's mouth closed and decided to shut up.

"Back to what I was saying. My family had a long legacy of being a part of the Marines and I was expected to follow in their footsteps. Not wanting to disappoint them, I joined when I was of age. Due to the training and influence of my family within the Marines, I was able to land a position higher than some when they first join. For the one year that I was there, I hated it. I hated being in the Marines, I hated the pricks that I had to share barracks with, and I hated the asshole captain that I was assigned under. The Marines offered no freedom whatsoever. Our schedules were decided for us. It was more like a prison than anything. The only reason that I bore with it was because I didn't want to disappoint my family. I told myself time and time again, that is what I wanted to be, that this was the life that I wanted to live. I was just denying my own wants and dreams." Mana paused, remembering things that she would like to keep in the past.

"It was one sleepless night that I figured out what I wanted. I wanted to be free. I didn't want to follow the legacy that my family has carved out for me. I wanted to carve out my own destiny and make a name for myself. I wanted to stand at the top of the world. Though I didn't know how to go about doing that. That was when I saw him. The person that inspired me to follow my dreams. His name was Gol D. Roger, the man known as the King of the Pirates." Her voice held great respect and reverence.

"Our squad got an emergency call for back-up. It seems that they were engaged in battle with the Roger pirates, and they were losing the battle. When we finally made it there, I saw a dozen Marine ships surrounding with one beautifully made ship. It wasn't a large ship compared to our own, but it wasn't small either. I remembered my captain shouted out to him, telling him to surrender. Once those words left the captain's mouth, laughter filled the air. Roger fired the first shot and the battle started. Although it couldn't even be called a battle. One after another, our ships got destroyed by one ship half the size of our own. Soon, our ships began to retreat. It became every man for themselves to get onto the remaining ships to get away. As I was about to get onto the boat with everyone else. My captain pushed me off and took my spot," She growled clenching her fist at the memory.

Jaune was enraptured with the tale that she was telling them. What he was more interested in was this Roger guy, who seems like he was capable of doing the impossible. Even if she said that she witnessed it herself, it is still hard to imagine a medium sized ship taking down over a dozen ships that are double its size. He halted these thoughts when he saw that Mana began to continue talking.

"I was in the water and I grabbed onto a piece of wood of from one of the destroyed ships for support against the waves. I turned and began to paddle for the Marine boat, shouting for them to get me, but they just ignored me and sailed away. I was in tears by then. No one thought to stop and save me. The Roger pirate's ship sailed over to me. They lifted me up from out of the water." Her shifted to a smile, reminiscing about her time on the ship.

"So you joined his crew?" Jaune asked.

"What did I say about questions?" She said.

"Sorry,"

She sighed. "It's fine. To answer your question, no, I didn't join their crew. I did however spend a week on that ship. It was probably the best week I have ever had in my life. Everyone was weird, but they weren't mean. They were honest people that were just out to have a good time. They told me about all their adventures and escapades. There was singing, dancing, and drinking. There was one guy on that ship that I thought was pretty cute too."

"Was that necessary to your story?" Jaune asked, confused as to why she mentioned some random guy.

"Shut up," Mana said threateningly.

"Yes ma'am,"

"The week had passed and they dropped me off at the nearest island with a Marine headquarters. I reported what had happened and they let me contact my squad and let me sleep in the barracks until they arrived. The fastest that they were able to get there was 2 weeks. Although I didn't want to go back, I didn't have many choices. That night as I was sleeping in the barracks thinking about my time with the Roger pirates. I was envious of them. I wanted what they had. The freedom, the lack of responsibility, the joy that emanated from them. The one that I was most envious of was the captain. He was the man that stood at the top of the world as the king. I wanted that."

"You wanted to be King of the Pirates?" Jaune asked.

"No," she sighed. "King of the Pirates is a little too much even for me. I wanted to be known as one of the Yonko."

"Yonko?"

"It means four emperors. They are ranked at the most notorious pirates in the world. They are the strongest and have the highest bounties. That is what I decided that night in the barracks. The problem was that I didn't know how I was going to go about doing that. There was no one I knew that would be willing to go with me to be a pirate. And stealing a boat was also going to be hard because they could easily catch up to be. That is when I met my first mate, Habare."

 _'_ _About time. Not that I'm complaining,'_ Jaune thought. This was a genuinely interesting story.

"He was a civilian on the island that ate a devil that gave him super speed. He was using it to cause chaos and steal things around town. They were finally able to capture him and brought him to the headquarters to be imprisoned. When I saw his background, I knew that he had to be on my crew."

Jaune listened intently to her story, nothing else at the moment matter. She told him about how she broke him out stole a boat in the middle of the night. From then on, she talked about her encounters with all of her crew members. Her listened to her talk about the adventures that she went on. He didn't know what The Grandline, Paradise, The New World, or a devil fruit was but he didn't want to interrupt her. He also saw that it was helping her. She started smiling a lot more, thinking about all the fun times that she had with her crew. All the memories that she had with them. As she was nearing the end of her tale, it began to take a much darker tone.

"In the Marines, there was one man. This one man is the one that took my crew away from me. He is the reason that I mourn the death of my fallen comrades. His name is Borsalino. Most people know him as Kizaru," She growled out. She grinded her teeth and balled her fist just at the thought of that man. Her eyes emanated pure rage.

Jaune doesn't know what was happening, but the room went cold. He felt like he couldn't breathe, due to Mana's presence. He felt a dominating aura come over him trying to subject him. His instincts were screaming telling him to get the hell away, but he felt like stuck. He felt like a small creature that was cornered by a predator. It was frightening to say the least. He was slowly starting to lose consciousness no matter how hard he tried to fight it. Just as darkness was about to fill his vision, Mana calmed down realizing what she was doing. Jaune put a hand on his knee and started breathing heavily.

"I'm sorry, I just lost control for a second," she said. There was worry written in her voice. That was a first.

"That's okay… Just need… to catch my breath…" Jaune said still breathing heavily. _'Whatever the hell that was, I don't want to know,'_ he thought.

Once his breathing returned to normal, he sat up and asked her to continue. Considering what just happened, this man was probably the source of Mana's problems.

Mana took a gulp of breath to get ready. "Me and my crew were halfway through The New World. I was getting close to my goal. I had a hefty bounty of 600,000,000 beri."

' _beri?'_ Jaune thought. 600,000,000 didn't seem to click in his head, until a few seconds later. His eyes widened to their full extent after processing the number she just said. ' _600,000,000?!_ ' he screamed in his head.

"We were on an island, to restock of things that we needed. We encountered Kizaru, one of the three admirals of the Marines. He must have been informed of our location by someone. Though he came alone. I thought he was just being cocky, and because of that he was going to lose. I never realized how wrong I was. He had eaten a devil fruit, and he was deadly in using it. He began to mercilessly kill each and every one of our crew members. As we were about to escape, he was going to chase us until, my crew intercepted him. They were all willing to die for me and I hated it. As I was about to jump over and go help them, Habare stayed behind and held me back from jumping over to help. I watched as they were all mercilessly killed. He knew that I was not going to sit around and watched as they were killed so he knocked me out." Tears began to cascade down Mana's eyes. Her lips began to tremble and she began to sniff the snot that was threatening to fall out of her nose.

Jaune's face was one that showed horror. Weren't the Marines supposed to be the good guys? Why would they do something so cruel and horrible?

"I woke up on the deck of the ship alone. I knew what had happened. My crew…my family was dead, and there was nothing I could do about it," Mana sobbed. "I wanted to die… I really wanted to, but I was too much of a coward to do it. I left The Grandline and went to the South Blue where found this island. I am now living day in day out, drinking my life away until I die. That was six years ago. And that is my story." She finished, rubbing he tears from her eyes.

After hearing her story, Jaune truly felt sorry for her. Even though he felt this, the words that he was about the say are not the smartest of things to say in this situation.

"You're being stupid," Jaune said. Mana froze, she turned her head towards him with her eyes scrunched I anger.

"Excuse me?" Mana growled threateningly. The look that she was giving him promised a lot of pain.

The blond buried his fear. He swallowed air and continued. "You're being stupid for throwing away your life like this."

"I don't think you heard what I said. I had to watch as they died. I was the only survivor. I was the captain. I should be dead with them, but instead I'm here alive as all fuck. I don't deserve to live!" Her voice steadily got louder and louder.

Jaune was scared shitless. He wanted to stop talking, but his mouth wouldn't shut up. He really wanted to help her. If it meant that he was going to be a punching bag, then so be it.

"Look, if I was in the same situation as you, I would feel the same way. I would feel like a rotten piece of shit that is waiting to kick the bucket like you, but I'm not. That's why it's up to me tell you that you do deserve to live. You did nothing wrong. The only reason why you are thinking like this is because of survivor's guilt. Your crew loved you just like you loved them, but they didn't want to see you die. They wanted you to live. That is why they sacrificed themselves, so you could see another day. It was worth it to because if you had died with them, I don't think I would have survived on this island without you. So don't ever say that you deserve to die, you got that!" Jaune shouted at the end.

Mana was floored. She wanted to get angry at him and tell him that he was wrong, but she couldn't. He was right, she was wasting the gift of life that her crew gave her. She was the reason that he was still alive. She did deserve to live. She did deserve to live. She began to break down crying, muttering thank you over and over again. Jaune got up from his seat and went to hug her. A hug always makes things better. Mana stood up and returned hugged.

-10 minutes later-

After Mana was done crying she felt better than ever. The crushing guilt that she felt finally was lifted off of her shoulder. Her expressed was filled with gratitude that was directed towards Jaune.

"Thank you so much," she said once again.

"It's no problem. You needed help and I wanted to help, simple as that," Jaune explained.

There was a pause of silence between the two. It seemed that Mana's tale went on for quite a while. They started in the morning and now the sun was going down. The silence was beginning to become uncomfortable, until Mana decided to break the silence.

"So why don't you tell me about you and how you got here?" She suggested.

"Huh?" Was the best response that Jaune could give.

"I pretty much told you my life story, and I don't really know much about you."

"Oh…well okay. My life is pretty boring though."

"That's okay."

"Okay then, but you have been warned," He said Jokingly.

Jaune told Mana about everything. He told her about his family. How he was a part of a family that was known to have great warriors. His seven sisters, which made Mana widen her eyes in surprise.

' _Gets them every time,"_ he thought.

He told her about his dream of becoming a hero. He told her about how he snuck into one of the most prestigious schools in all of Remnant by submitting forged transcripts. This gained some chuckles from Mana. How could a school that is so highly praised not notice something like that? He told her about his time in Beacon up until his expulsion. His tone shifted to a somber one when he began to explain his series of unfortunate events up until he met her.

"It was my dream to be a hero, I was willing to do almost anything to become one. I wanted to be like my predecessors that came before me and protect the people of Remnant. Though now I won't have that chance anymore." Jaune finished.

"Was that really your dream?" Mana asked.

Jaune looked at her and paused. "Of course it was," Jaune responded.

"No, that wasn't what you truly wanted. You only wanted to be a hero because of the stories that your family implanted into your head to follow them in their footsteps. It may have been a dream, but it was only artificial."

Jaune's face began morph into a frown. Who the hell was she to tell him what his dream was or wasn't? What did she know?

"What do you know?" He defended.

"I know a lot from the years that I have been alive on this planet and from what I have experienced. I know that from what you have told me about your life that, that is not your dream. The only reason why you did all the things that you did was to please your family. You were even willing to lie and cheat. A hero doesn't do that." She stated calmly.

"Shut up," Jaune snarled.

"You probably don't even have a dream whatsoever?"

"Shut up!"

"Or what? What are you going to do? You're not coming up with anything to defend yourself and you're not strong enough to fight me. Face the truth, you never had a dream in the first place."

"Why are you being so mean right now?!"

"You helped me. Now it is my turn to help you, even if it means I have to be bitch doing it. Stop fooling yourself Jaune. What do you really want?"

There was a pregnant silence. He thought about it. What did he want? He wanted to be a hero right? No. No he didn't. If that wasn't what he wanted, then what was it. At that moment, Jaune's mind became a warzone. His mind was in cognitive dissonance. He began to search through his life for anything. Anything that showed that his life meant something. He kept frantically searching through his mind, but nothing came up. All the warmth in his body left him. He felt empty and hollow. His life meant nothing. He had no dreams or aspirations. Becoming a hero? No. He just wanted his family to be proud of him. He stayed like this for several minutes until he finally spoke up.

"…I don't know," he whispered.

"What?" she asked

"I don't know! I just don't know! I thought and thought about it, but I kept drawing a blank!"

Jaune began to tremble. "I'm scared! Has my whole life had no meaning? Will I die just and just be someone that didn't have any dreams!" Jaune began to hold his head. His eyes were wide and shaking with panic.

"What do I do?" He whimpered.

Mana just stared at Jaune as he had a panic attack. She didn't expect for him to have no dreams whatsoever. It seems like he was going to need a lot more help than she first thought.

"You find meaning," Mana finally said.

Jaune looked up at her. "Find meaning?" He aksed.

"Go out into the world and find meaning for your life. The world is a big and beautiful place full of inspiration. Go out there and find what your life is meant to be."

"What about you? What about your dream of being a Yonko? You were never able to make it become a reality. Aren't you kind of in the same boat as me?"

"My crew is gone and I am sure as hell not going to look for replacements. That would only sully their memory. My days of dreaming are over, but your young and still have the chance to go out their chasing your dreams."

"What if…while I go out finding meaning to my life. I will carry your dream with me and make it a reality," Jaune said. Jaune began to feel a little bit better. He still had the chance to find meaning in life, but she didn't. If she couldn't do it herself, he was going to do it for her.

"By doing that, you would have to become a pirate. You will be leading a hazardous occupation. While it is definitely a fun life, it is also one full of danger. Are you sure that you know what you are saying?"

"I know what I said. You can no longer do what you have strived for, so in your place I will do it for you."

"You will be considered a criminal to all Marines."

"I'll still do it."

"You could possibly die."

"Then I was only meant to make it that far."

"You don't even have the training or strength to do it."

"Then make me strong enough to make it possible."

Mana looked at him. She could see that he was determined. He was determined to carry both of their dreams on his back. He could be captured. He could die. He had low self-esteem, he wasn't that strong, and he had a lack of knowledge about this part of the world. He was going to need all the help that he could get.

"I don't like being told what to do," She said in fake anger. She already decided that she was going to help.

"I didn't tell you what to do. I gave you options," Jaune said with a smirk.

If she wasn't already completely sold, she is now.

"Well you better get ready kid because you got a helluvah lot to learn." She announced.

Jaune cheered inside his head. "Thank you Mana, I'm no-"

"Master," Mana said simply

"…Huh?"

"From this moment on, you are only allowed to call me master. You will do everything that I say, no matter how crazy. You got that?" As she said this, a cruel smile began to form on her face.

"Why do I feel like I made a deal with the devil?"

"Because you did.

"…Can I take back what I said?"

"No."

"Shit."

And that is the end of chapter 3. Sorry about the huge amount of dialogue and back story, but it was needed. Now Jaune has a reason to go on this adventure. Along the way, he will find what he really wants to do. How long will it take? Depends on how long it takes for him to get through Paradise.

If you are wondering why he decided to also carry Mana's dream, it is because that is what One Piece is about. It is about inheriting the will. The next chapter is pretty much where training comes in and Jaune discovering his devil fruit.

I am trying to make the chapters longer, but it is actually really hard to do that. This is the most that I have ever written and I enjoyed every second. Also, does anyone know how to make those line breaks? I have been searching and haven't found how to do that.

See you guys later in the next chapter.


	4. Year 1 of Training

Hello

I want to start off by saying thank you. This is probably the first fanfiction that I feel proud of. If you any of you looked at my profile, you would see the first story that I have ever written. I don't delete it because I keep it as a reminder that I can do better than that. I was scared to post anything else on Fanfiction. I posted this because I had an idea and now I see all you guys reading. It doesn't matter how many people come to read it. I am grateful that anyone reads it and enjoys it. So thank you.

So I have an idea of what Jaune's fighting style is going to be. I already have plans for his devil fruit and how he will discover it. He will know that he has a devil fruit, but he won't know what it is and how to access it. Why? Because that is the type of person that Jaune is. What his devil fruit will be revealed once his training is over. That's is all I got to say.

Enjoy the story

It has been one week since Jaune Arc has declared his dream. In that one week, he learned all kinds of things. Mana decided that it was best to start off with knowledge about this part of the world. It seems that Remnant is somewhere far down in the South Blue. He learned about the World Government, The Grandline, Paradise, and The New World. He learned about the Shichibukai, The Admirals, and The Yonko. An interesting discovery was made when they were learning about the devil fruit.

 _-Flashback-_

 _"_ _There are fruit known as devil fruit that hold great power within them, the power of a sea devil. The fruit grants you power when you consume one, but you are cursed and will never be able to swim ever again for your entire life," Mana explained._

 _"_ _So what does a devil fruit look like?" Jaune asked. He was genuinely curious about the devil fruit. The concept of eating a fruit that gives you super powers sounds like something straight out of a cartoon. He actually considered eating one of these fruits, until he heard that he wouldn't be able to swim._

 _"_ _A devil fruit can come in many different shapes, sizes, and colors. The one characteristic that they all share is that they have a swirl pattern on the skin of the fruit." Mana answered._

 _'_ _That sounds a lot like that fruit I ate,' Jaune thought._

 _"_ _While the devil fruits hold great power, they are also known to taste horrible. There are many different types of devil fruit, but they are separated into three different categories. They called Para-" as Mana was saying this, she saw Jaune wearing a horrible poker face. He was also starting to sweat profusely. Panic was clearly written within his eyes. Mana stared at him and asked._

 _"_ _Did you eat a devil fruit?" She got a nod._

 _"_ _Do you know what it is?" This time she got a headshake._

 _"_ _So," she sighed. "You ate a devil fruit and don't even know what it is?" The former pirate was now pinching the bridge of her nose along with a groan of frustration. As she was doing this, there was one thought that was swirling through Jaune's head._

 _'_ _I CAN'T SWIM ANYMORE!'_

 _-End of Flashback-_

And he still doesn't know what his devil fruit is. Even though Mana told him not to worry about it, he couldn't stop thinking about it. What if he got something stupid? If so, he made a horrible trade. His swimming in exchange for a useless power. At least he was still going to get combat training.

It was the first day of training. The sun hasn't even come up yet If it wasn't for the torch that Mana had he wouldn't be able to see. Jaune was trying his hardest to not fall asleep due to not being used to being awake at his, while Mana seemed perfectly fine. His master decided that it was a great idea to start training extremely early in the morning for some odd reason. Right now, they were walking through the forest to who knows where.

So far, they have been walking for several hours. The sun began to peak over the horizon. Noticing the change in light, Mana extinguishes the torch by simply covering it with her hand. Jaune's eyes widened and was about to ask if she was okay, until he saw that her hand was perfectly fine. She didn't seem to show any discomfort whatsoever from doing that. Even though she pretty much told him her life story yesterday, there is still a lot that he still doesn't know about her. Like how did she become so strong, what is she capable of doing, and where was she taking him right now?

"So Man- I mean Master, where are we going?" The pirate in training asked.

"Good save. You'll see soon enough," She said sagely.

Actually, he wanted to know right now. His feet were starting to ache and his comfy sandals weren't helping. Thanks to Mana, he didn't have to wear the same clothes every day. She gave him the clothes of some of her former crew members. He was now wearing a thin blue t-shirt with a palm tree design along with some shorts that stopped at his knees. He was also wearing sandals that were surprisingly comfortable. He looked pretty good in what he was wearing, if he did say so himself.

He wanted to know why they had to go so far. Just as he was about to say something, he sees something besides trees. It was the beach. The same beach that he woke up on. He recognized that piece of scrap metal anywhere. Why were they at the beach? Mana turned around to Jaune and put her hands on her hips. She was fired up and ready to go.

"It's time to start your training," She announced.

This got Jaune's attention. He was excited and was ready. What were they going to do? Was she going to teach him secret techniques? Maybe they were going to spar and she would teach him as they went along? Whatever it was, he was pumped.

"Thirty laps around the island," she ordered.

…

…

…

"Huh?"

"You heard me, thirty laps around island. Now get to it," her voice was much sterner than before.

"But-"

"NOW!" She bellowed.

"YES MA'AM!" He shouted. He threw off his sandals and started sprinting.

"THAT'S MASTER TO YOU!" She yelled out to him. She walked over to a big rock near the forest and across from the beach and perched herself on top. She took along one of her bottles of alcohol and began to drink, waiting for the return of her student.

-Three hours later-

Mana was still perched atop the rock. She was done with her drink and was just waiting for Jaune to make his first lap. That is when she heard the sound of heavy breathing. She looked to her left and saw him clumsily running toward her. He looked like he was about to collapse any minute now. He didn't even make it to the first lap. He fell over into the sand still breathing heavily. The only thing that he was capable of doing was turning himself onto his back. His legs felt like they were on fire and his lungs felt like they were going to shrivel up.

Mana jumped off from her perch and walked over to her asphyxiated student. Once she reached his location. She blocked his sight of the sky and looked down at him with her amethyst eyes. It was a look of neither disappointment or proudness. It was just what she expected. Jaune decided to speak up.

"Did…you really think…that…I could…run thirty laps?" He asked in between breaths.

"Not really," she simply said.

"Then why?"

"I needed to see what I was working with," she responded. "We have a lot of work to do it seems."

-3 month later-

For the whole 3 months, Jaune would run as many laps as he could around the island. 1 lap became 2 and that 2 went on to become 30. His legs got stronger and he was able to run much faster than before. 30 laps was something that was possible, even if he was a heaving mess after it.

Mana gave him pointers on running techniques how to properly run. He wasn't allowed to run barefooted and had to wear his sandals. Soon, he wasn't on the ground gasping for air. He was able to stand up and only be slightly winded. That is when Mana decided to up the intensity. Along with thirty laps, she had him do 10 laps of high knees for 1000 meters.

-1 month later-

She was not only working out his legs, but everything else. She made him lifts boulders twice his size, she had him do 500 sit-ups, 200 push-ups, and 50 crunches with a heavy rock as a weight. This was rougher than any training that Pyrrha put him through. At the end of each day, he was in agony from the workout. He got time for rest, but only to wake up extremely early and do it all over again. He was seeing results though. He was much faster, his stamina has dramatically increased, and he was able to lift things that may be three times his weight.

If he implemented his Aura, he could probably do double the amount he was doing right now. He went to talk to Mana about this, but that didn't really go so well.

 _-Flashback-_

 _Jaune and Mana were sitting down at the beach after today's training session. Jaune brought up the question about implementing the use of his Aura in his training. He was sure that Mana thought that this would be a good idea. What he didn't expect was to hear her refusal._

 _"_ _No," she said._

 _"_ _What? Why? I've told you about Aura and what it is capable of doing? I could do twice the amount that I am doing right now," Jaune responded. Why didn't she want him to use his Aura? He told her about all the things that it could do._

 _"_ _Because then you would use it like a crutch. You won't get stronger in anyway whatsoever. While aura is impressive, it will only hinder you when you enter The Grandline. That is why I'm making sure that you don't use it," she answered._

 _"_ _That doesn't make any sense, wouldn't everyone be able to use Aura in The Grandline?" He asked._

 _"_ _The only people that use Aura, are the people where you are from. There are powers out there much stronger than Aura. Things that can easily get through its defenses."_

 _"_ _I don't believe you. I don't care what you say, my Aura has gotten me out a lot of situations and I'm not going to give it up. I WILL use it."_

 _This made Mana frown. Right now he was being an immature brat that didn't listen to reason. He was going to have to learn the hard way then. Mana got up from her spot and walked over to Jaune. Jaune looked up at her and saw that she had a scary expression on her face. He saw her arms coated a in black substance that he has never seen before. The next thing he knew, a fist was buried and his gut. He clutched his abdomen in pain and waited for his Aura to heal him. Except…it didn't. The pain was still there. Why wasn't his Aura healing him? Actually, why couldn't he feel his Aura. He tried to willfully circulate his Aura, but he couldn't. Why? What did she do to him?_

 _"_ _What did you do?!" He growled._

 _"_ _Teaching you a lesson. Almost everyone in The Grandline is able to do what I just did. You could have been in a worse situation if I let you go, and let you use that energy like some crutch. Be thankful that it was me and not someone that was trying to kill you."_

 _After she said this, she walked away from her student. She didn't care how he felt about her right now, she was not going to let him throw away his life. Jaune was still laying there on the sand now looking up. The pain soon faded away. He couldn't access his Aura anymore. He should have been sad about this, the only connection that he had left to his home was gone. He should have felt crushed. But he didn't. He felt lighter. He felt…new. He felt like a horrible canvas painting that was painted over with white. He truly felt that now, he could really start over. The pirate in training got up and walked back to the cottage. It was a long trek due to him still being exhausted from today's training but he made it. He opened the door to the cottage and saw that his Master was cooking tonight. They made a deal to take turns cooking and it seems that it was her turn. He knew that she sensed him coming towards the cabin, but she paid him no mind._

 _"_ _I'm sorry," Jaune said._

 _"_ _For what?" She asked roughly Mana's hands were still working on the food that she was preparing._

 _"_ _I was acting like a brat that knew better… I just didn't want to let go of the one thing that kept me connected to my home. I was afraid that I would be nothing without it." Apologizing was hard._

 _Mana sighed. "I guess I should also say that I am sorry for doing what I did. I just don't want you to die from something that you think will always heal you. While it does have its benefits, it's just not worth it. I haven't really said it, but I do care about you."_

 _Jaune didn't expect to hear her say that. He felt warm inside. It was like his Aura, but it was different. Jaune felt happy._

 _"_ _Now, go set up the table. Dinner is going to be ready soon," she said. It was true, she was almost done._

 _"_ _Yes Master," he said. He walked over to the utensils and began to set up the table to get ready for the meal._

 _"_ _Oh and Jaune," she called._

 _"_ _Yes?" He answered._

 _"_ _If you ever like a brat again. I'm not going to be as kind. You got that?" She put emphasis on the last part to get her point through._

 _Jaune gulped. "Y-yes."_

 _This was woman is the scariest thing he has encountered so far in his life._

 _-End of Flashback-_

Even though, he couldn't channel his Aura anymore. He didn't miss it at all. He still had the memories of his friends. Each day, he felt like he was getting stronger. Right now, he felt at peace. Even if every muscle in his body felt like it was on fire.

-3 months later-

Day in and day out, his master gave him her one hundred percent. In return, he gave her double. He was faster, stronger, and much more flexible. Mana knew that it was time to start on some technique. As usual, he did his sprints around the island, but instead of doing thirty, he was doing one hundred. Mana was someone that did not let him become content. If she saw he was getting used to the routine, she would increase the intensity. After Jaune finished his laps, instead of doing his other routines, Mana brought him to a tree. This tree was both tall and thick. Mana walked up besides the tree and put her hand on his.

"For the next year, this tree will be your training partner," she announced to her student. "All the techniques that I teach you will be practiced on this tree. You will still be doing your daily routines, but this will added into it your schedule."

Finally, this is what Jaune was waiting for. It was finally time to learn how to be a badass. He was jumping on the balls of his feet in excitement. He was ready, he was pumped.

"Kick this tree," she simply said. She did a demonstration. She raised her left leg and pivoted on her right, delivering a powerful strike that shook the whole tree. "I want you to do it like that with both legs one hundred times with everything you got."

"Okay?" Jaune said confused. He walked up to the mighty tree and copied his Master's movements. The tree didn't even shake. A piercing pain erupted in his leg. He squeezed his eyes closed from the pain.

"Good, now do it like that 99 more times. Once you're done with that,100 times on the right leg," Mana said.

"But it hurts," Jaune exclaimed.

"That's the point. The point this exercise it to kill two birds with one stone. As you are repeatedly striking the tree, the nerves along the striking area will deaden until you can't feel anything. This is also a good way to practice your technique. Now hop to it, we don't have all day." She truly is the devil.

By the time that Jaune was done with the exercise, he was tired and his shins were in pain. It has been a month since he has started this exercise. It seems that Mana's style is centered around kicks. He learned how to do a different kinds of techniques that he practices everyday on that tree. He could no longer feel the pain in his legs or his feet. It was now a deadly weapon. Jaune learned some punches since Mana said that is necessary for every pirate to know how to throw a punch. Why was it necessary? He doesn't know. He could punch and kick the tree from different angles and he didn't feel an ounce of pain. He was really liking these results.

Today was different. Mana didn't want him to do any running or any of his other routines. She brought him out to a clearing within the forest. He was curious as to what they were going to be doing today.

"So, what are we doing today?" He asked. Was it going to be some other mundane exercise like the ones that he has been doing so far. He decided not to have his hopes up only for them to get crushed like they have been before.

"Starting today, once a week you will be getting some battle experience," she said. Jaune perked up at this. His eyes lit up with excitement. He was finally going to be do some real combat. This is what he has been waiting for, for months.

"So were going to be sparing?" He asked.

"Yes, but not with me. I called in some favors. They will be a good experience for you," she said. He was wondering who we he going to be fighting. He thought that they were the only people that were on this island. As he thought this, he heard the shaking of trees coming from all directions. Soon, he saw…MONKEYS. The same monkeys that tried to kill him on first day at the island. There seems to be more of them. One monkey dropped down from the trees and walked over to Jaune and Mana. This must have been the leader. He was unnaturally tall for a monkey, close to Jaune's height. His fur was matte black. He was a little hunched over to. He was also wearing-

"MY HOODIE!" Jaune exclaimed. This monkey was wearing his treasured hoodie. "GIVE ME BACK MY HOODIE!" The monkey looked at him in amusement. It's default expression morphed into a devious grin. He raised his left hand and mocked him by signaling "come get it."

Mana was looking between his student and the monkey and plan began to formulate in her head.

"You want your hoodie back so badly? Then you gotta beat him. He along with the tree will be your sparring partner for the time that you are here. You're going to have to give it all that you got because Totomaru is no pushover," she said.

"Totomaru?"

"That's his name."

"Oh."

"Well let's get this fight started." Mana said as she moved to the sideline.

Jaune got into the battle stance that was now engrained into his head. He looked at the monkey across from him. The monkey was in a crouched stance. It was staring at Jaune with a smile on his face. He was waiting for Jaune to make the first move. Jaune's eyes narrowed at the monkey. He was going to get his hoodie back.

-1 hour later-

Jaune was on the ground, bruised and beaten. Totomaru bounce from one leg to the other in joy. He seems to be having fun beating the shit out of Jaune. This was going to be a lot harder than Jaune first thought.

-4 months later-

It has almost been a year since Jaune has been on this island. In that year, he has had an explosive growth. Right now he is sparring with Totomaru. When he first fought him, he wasn't able to beat him at all. He was now able to fight him toe to toe. While he still hasn't truly beaten him, he is now not the only one to leave the battle with injuries. To make sure that he wasn't getting used to Totomaru's fighting style, Jaune sparred with many of the monkeys who were also fighters. From time to time he would even spar with Mana. Him fighting Mana couldn't even be called a fight. Every kick seemed to do nothing or it didn't even connect. She was merciless and he could tell that she was holding back greatly. It seems that he had a long way to go before he could be considered any good.

And that is the end of Chapter 4. Right now, here are the poll results for the devil fruit that Jaune can have.

Hai-Hai no Mi (Ash-Ash Fruit)(Logia) 4

Dendo-Dendo no Mi (Zap-Zap Fruit)(Paramecia) 3

Oto-Oto no Mi (Sound-Sound Fruit)(Paramecia) 2

Pafu-Pafu no Mi (Puff-Puff Fruit)(Paramecia) 1

I didn't expect for people to go for the logia devil fruit. To me, the paramecia fruits are cooler. The poll will be kept open until next chapter or the one after that.

Some of you are probably wondering why the fuck did I get rid of Jaune's Aura? I don't really see a use to Aura besides healing in this story. I don't have any plans whatsoever for it either. So I got rid of it by applying the ancient Chinese philosophy of chi.

Aura is an energy that flows through people the same way that blood flows through our veins. That is the only logical way that someone can circulate their Aura throughout their body to amplify themselves and their weapons. If there weren't any veins for the Aura, then it would be just going wildly through their bodies without the user being able to control it. Aura must have a core, or a Dantian. This was something that the Chinese believed to be very real and applied to their acupuncture. It is a lot more complicated, but that is the gist of it.

Haki is able to do things that should be considered impossible. It can literally go through what should be untouchable and touch the true body. It can sense things that shouldn't be able to be sensed. If it can do all these things, why not break through Aura. Jaune's Aura is still there, but it is now just something that is useless.

I'm sorry if anyone wanted me to do something with Jaune's Aura, like him discovering his semblance, but I'm not. There are people out there that can do things that would probably blow the minds of the people of Remnant. Like Ace. He didn't know how to use Haki, but he was still a complete badass that could create giant fireballs that were capable of destroying huge amounts of land. That is the end of my rant.

See you guys in the next chapter.


	5. 2 years and more Monkeys

Hello

So I'm like really happy that I finally figured out how to make lines.

I got a review from guest that I couldn't reply to, so I will answer it on here.

Guest: If this story is set 4 years before the canon One Piece timeline does this mean that Vale has fallen or time moves differently on both worlds?

Answer: Well this is an AU. From what I can tell, in the RWBY Canon. Jaune is probably going to be an integral part of the story. Me taking him out is going to fuck up a lot of things in RWBY. So in this story, Vale never fell. Pyrrha never died. All of Jaune's friends are close to graduating and are already very well known. The timelines are also congruent with each other. The Volume 3 finale also fucked me up, so that is why I did things this way.

I have a question for you guys. How would you like it, if I were to do a chapter where he encounters his old friends? They are on an expedition into the Grandline and they meet Jaune who is now labeled as a notorious criminal. That would be interesting to write. This will be later on in the story, but tell me what you think.

Enjoy the story

* * *

2 years.

It's been 2 years since Jaune has started his training. Right now, he is sparring with his master who has just sent him flying through a tree. This is not the first time he has been sent through a tree by his master. She says that it builds character, but he thinks that she just likes to send him flying through trees. Jaune's short flight finally ended with him on his back. The first time he got sent through a tree, he couldn't walk properly for a week without his back hurting. Now it is just a dull soreness. That still didn't change the fact that Mana had the kicking power of a train.

"Come on Jaune get up. If you don't, we'll going for another three hours!" She shouted. As time went on, the intensity of Jaune's training kept getting raised. Right now, he was pretty strong. But compared to Mana, it was like an ice cube trying to put out a fire. Even though the pirate in training still has a long way to go, he has also progressed at a frightening pace. His kicks were strong enough to shatter rocks, one jump could have him thirty feet in the air, he could run at speeds that would leave athletes in the dust, and his body was much more durable than before.

Not only has he gotten stronger, but his appearance has changed. He went from being a string bean to lean. While he was not overly buff, it was easy to tell that his muscles were tight and compact. He was a smaller target and he could deliver devastating blows to his opponent. While his face hasn't changed much, it's the small details that count. His face filled out and became more angular, which now allowed him to live up to the moniker of lady-killer.

His clothing also changed. Good news, he finally got his hoodie back after he had finally beaten Totomaru. Sadly, his hoodie didn't fit him anymore due to his growth, but thankfully Mana was there to save the day. Sewing skills were a must if you were going to be a pirate out on the high seas. She fixed his hoodie and added a zipper feature to it. The hoodie hugged his body, but it didn't cause any discomfort. He was wearing joggers that he got from one of Mana's former crew members. While he felt uncomfortable at first for wearing the clothes of the deceased, he only had two options. Only wear the same clothes the whole time he was on the island or just bear with it and take the clothes. Mana didn't seem to mind him wearing clothes. His wardrobe was finished with his super comfy sandals and the sash that his Master usually wore. The memory of when he got it was still fresh in his mind.

* * *

 _-Flashback-_

 _Today was one of the rare days that Jaune didn't have to train. Right now he was going around the cottage doing chores. Although he liked training, he did feel that he couldn't do it every day. He cherished these days. Right now he was chopping firewood, when Mana decided to call him into the cottage._

" _Jaune, come here. I need you for a second," she called._

 _Jaune stopped his work to go see what his Master wanted from him. Maybe it was to go to the cellar to get more booze. It took him a year and a half to figure out that she had another cabin filled to the brim with bottles and barrels full of alcohol. At least she wasn't a depressed alcoholic anymore. She was just an alcoholic._

 _Jaune walked into the cottage to see his Master holding her red sash in her hands. That was weird, he has never seen that thing off of her. It was always tied to her waist._

" _Have I ever told you the story of how I got this sash?" She started._

" _You actually haven't," he responded. He knew nothing about that sash at all. Where did she get it? Was it given to her? Or maybe she stole it? All he knew was that it held some great meaning to her._

" _This sash was my first treasure. I remember me and my crew were searching for the long lost treasure of an infamous pirate before even Roger. He was said to have had a treasure that was worth an entire mountain by itself. Hearing that, we got information and went searching for it. It took us half a year before we were able to get an exact location on it. It took us another 3 months to actually get there. After all the hardship and strife of getting there, we found it. It was ship that was spending the rest of its day in a cove. But there nothing. No gold, no gems, no devil fruit, just nothing. What we did find was the body of the captain whose name was lost to time itself. He was nothing but a skeleton and his clothes were rotting except for the very sash that you see here. Maybe there was someone who had already found the treasure. I don't know, but this was my first treasure. It's been with me for almost twenty years now. And now I'm giving it to you." As she said this, she extended her arm, with the item neatly folded, towards him._

 _Jaune didn't know what to say. This was no ordinary sash. This was a part of her identity. This was her legacy. And now she was passing it onto him. This was her will. He was even more determined not to let her down. Jaune's hand stretched out towards the sacred and item and gently grasped it within his hand._

" _How do you tie it?" He asked sheepishly. Mana looked amused. She walked over and showed him how to properly tie the sash. The sash was wrapped around and tucked under and over. She stood back to get a full body view of how it looked on him. Jaune spread his arms out._

" _So how do I look?" He asked._

" _Like a pirate," she responded._

 _-End of Flashback-_

* * *

Although she never showed it a lot. He knew that Mana did genuinely care for him and wanted his success. Well she did show it, but not in the normal way.

"Jaune, you would have been killed over a hundred times for staying down for that long!" She shouted. Yeah, like that. Jaune swung his body and jumped back to his feet. He made a full dash for the former pirate, hoping to land a hit on her. His master saw him, but made no move whatsoever to counter. Just as Jaune got in range, he stopped running and lifted his left leg to deliver a mighty straight kick. Mana dodged by turning her body. Pivoting with his right foot, he twisted his body and did a reverse roundhouse kick. Instead of dodging, Mana grabbed the foot that was coming towards her. A loud boom from the force of kick was made, but the former pirate didn't seem affected by it.

With his foot in her hands, Mana lifted Jaune off the ground and threw him at another tree. Instead of hitting the tree, Jaune did a midair recovery. Mana smirked in satisfaction. It seems that he was beginning to learn. Immediately after his recovery, he dashed towards her again. His tactics were different this time. He positioned himself into a handstand and began to do a flurry of attacks. Mana easily blocked or avoided each of the hit. Seeing this was having no affect, Jaune stopped his attacks and back-flipped away.

-Three hours later-

For three hours, they were fighting. Jaune was visibly exhausted, while Mana hasn't even broken a sweat. Even though he knew that Mana was leagues stronger than him, it was frustrating at times. No matter what he tried, he couldn't land a single proper hit on her. He wanted to be even stronger than he was now.

The women in question was giving Jaune a curious look. From what she could tell and feel, he was frustrated. He isn't doing as well as he does usually. His attacks were getting sloppy and she wasn't having any of that.

"We're done training for today!" She announced. She began to walk away back to the cottage. Jaune was shocked. What happened? She's never done this before. He ran to go catch up to her.

"Master, why are we stopping so early?" He asked frantically. He wasn't going to get stronger like this. What was going through this woman's head?

"You seem to be distracted and its messing you up. As you are right now, you aren't going to improve in any way. So once you figured out what's distracting you and resolve it, we won't be training. Am I clear?"

"Bu-…yes," Jaune answered lamely. She was the source of his frustration. How was he going to tell her that? If he did, she would probably hit him for it. This was frustrating, he was not going to get any stronger like this. He couldn't wait around. He needed to get stronger now. He gritted his teeth and walked away from his master.

"And where do you think you are going?" She asked.

"Since you won't be training me, I'll do it myself!" He shouted.

"Fine then, do what you want,"

They went their separate ways. Mana, back to the cottage, while Jaune didn't know where he was going. He just wanted to be away from her so he could blow off some steam. He knew that he being irrational, but he couldn't help it. He wanted to grow faster.

* * *

-Night Time-

Jaune has been out there for a while now, and Mana was beginning to worry. While she knew that Jaune was capable of taking care of himself now, she still couldn't help but worry about him. Plus, it was his turn to cook tonight. She got up from her seat within the cottage and sensed for his presence on the island.

In a matter of seconds, she found him and began to walk towards the location. It wasn't that far from the cottage, so why rush? It took a total of ten minutes to reach the location he was at. What she walked in on was Jaune practicing his forms on the tree. From how dented the tree looked, he's been at for quite a while. He also seemed to still be frustrated. She sighed at this. He still hasn't resolved what was bothering him. Just she was about to walk out, Jaune made a cry of anger. He kicked the tree with all of his might and it crashed to the forest floor. Jaune sat down to take a breather.

"I need to get stronger," he growled out.

"So that's what you were so frustrated about," Mana said, deciding to announce her presence. Jaune turned his head towards the voice of his master. He frowned. He turned his head away, like he was a little kid. Mana was starting to get annoyed. She told to him not act like a brat and here he was doing what she explicitly told him not to do.

"Not exactly," he admitted. His voice didn't hold any aggression, it seemed that he was more disappointed in himself. Due to being socially isolated for six years, Mana wasn't the best at helping people with personal problems. It was especially true with a 19 year-old. Even though she knew this, she was still going to try. She walked over to his side and sat down with him crossed-legged.

"So what exactly is it?" She asked.

"You won't get mad?" He asked. He didn't feel like getting hit.

"As long as it's not something stupid."

Jaune sighed. That was the best he was going to get. "I'm frustrated that I'm not getting strong as fast as I want to. Every time that I spar with you, I just get my ass kicked a hundred different ways. I try so many different things, but they don't seem to work at all…Am I really this weak?" He confessed.

"No, you're not," Mana said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, but you can be really stupid sometimes."

"…Huh?"

"By comparing yourself to me, of course you're going to feel frustrated feel like you're not becoming stronger. It's not like you're going to become as strong as me overnight. I wasn't this strong from the beginning. I was a pirate for 6 years. I along with my crew steadily grew stronger. We learned things from our enemies that helped us improve greatly. You will experience the same thing. I'm just trying to give you the best head start that I can." After Mana said this, she gave Jaune a strong punch to the top of his head.

"OW! What gives? You said that you wouldn't hit me," he said as he was rubbing his now bruised head.

"I said as long as it is not something stupid." She responded. "Now get up. You want to get stronger faster? Then I'm just going to have the raise the intensity even more."

Jaune was now scared. "But what about dinner?" He was regretting the pit that he dug himself into. Maybe she would leave for tomorrow because she was hungry? Hopefully she would go with that option.

"Fuck dinner, we'll starve for tonight. Now come on." She announced.

' _Shit,'_ Jaune thought.

* * *

-The Next Morning-

Jaune was sore and tired. He and Mana sparred until the sun rose. Mana decided to let him rest for the day. She left the cottage and said that she had some errands to do. What errands? There wasn't much for her to do besides train him and house chores. Jaune was already most of the chores himself. Jaune decided to think nothing of it and slept most of the day away.

Jaune woke up, feeling fully rested. He got up and looked around the cottage to find his master. He entered the main area and found the person in question curled up on the furniture fast asleep. Jaune walked over to her and picked her up. She wasn't heavy at all and it was hard to wake her up too. He walked down to her room and tucked her into bed. He silently left the room and decided to do his daily chores.

For the rest of the day. He was wondering what Mana was doing. While he has learned a lot about her, he still can't seem to understand her thought process. Maybe it had to do with his training? If it is, why did it take so long for her to prepare? Was it the monkeys again? It's probably the monkeys. He probably wasn't going to know until tomorrow, so he put those thoughts to the back of his head.

…

…

…

Well he tried to not think about it, but it was really hard. He needed to know. The only solution available was to wake up his sleeping master. The thought made him shiver. He tried that once and that didn't end well. One moment he was shaking his master awake, the next he was flying out the window into a tree. Even in her sleep, she sends him flying into a tree.

The thoughts of what tomorrow would bring followed Jaune into his sleep. He was both excited and scared of the thought. Soon, his drowsiness overcame his body and he finally closed his heavy eyelids.

* * *

-The Next Morning-

It was early. Although it wasn't the pitch black early like when he first started training. A small amount of sunlight was coming over the horizon. Mana woke Jaune up and they began their long trek into a part of the forest that Jaune was unfamiliar with.

"So where are we going?" Jaune finally decided to asked. He hoped that she wasn't going to be cryptic or say "you'll see soon," like she always said.

"We're going to the mountains," she answered.

"What mountain?" Jaune asked. He has been here for two years and he has ever seen a mountain anywhere. Mana stopped walking and turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"That mountain," she said. At the same time, she pointed to their right.

"What are you talking about. There is no mountaaaaaaaa-" Jaune was looking at a very tall mountain that he has never seen in his life. How did he not notice that? It should have been obvious.

"How have I never noticed that?!" He screamed.

As Jaune was panicking from not noticing the mountain. Mana was looking at Jaune with a deadpan face. In her head, Mana was making plans within her head for future training.

' _Note to self. Raise Jaune's spatial awareness,_ ' she thought. Now that plan was set in her mind, she decided that it was time to keep moving. "You can worry about not noticing the mountain later. Let's go."

Jaune was mumbling to himself about the mountain as they continued their hike to the mountain. Mana couldn't make out all that he was saying, but one word she kept hearing was "what the fuck." It seems him not noticing the mountain was really getting to him. They were nearing the base of the mountain and what met them were two monkeys. So he was right about it being the monkeys. One monkey had a white fur coat, while the other had a black fur coat. They were both the same height and were slightly taller than Jaune. He's never seen these monkeys though.

"Jaune, meet Chisu and Shisu. They will be sparring with you until you are able to beat them," Mana said. The one with white fur was called Chisu, while the black one was Shisu. Though Jaune was confused.

"Didn't I fight all the monkeys? I thought Totomaru was the strongest?" He asked.

"Totomaru was the strongest out of the novice fighters. Most of the novices hang around the floor of the island. Chisu and Shisu are the weakest of the intermediate fighters. They are the ones that guard the way to the mountain where there are even stronger fighters. Your mission is to get as far as you can up this mountain. At the very top is the leader of the monkeys." She announced.

Jaune didn't know how to feel about this. It took him a little over a year to be able to defeat the novices and now he has to fight others that are on another level. He best get started then. It was decided that he was would fight Chisu first, and then Shisu would be next. And as expected, he got his ass kicked. Great. It looks like Jaune still has a long way to go before he will be ready.

* * *

-Four months later-

Jaune was scaling the mountain. He had beaten Chisu and Shisu a lot faster than he expected. He met some other fighters along the way and he seemed to being doing fine with dealing with them. As he was hiking up the mountain he saw a monkey sitting down eating some fruit. The monkey looked to be pretty old. It had a mixed coat of brown and white, but it seems that it was greying in some areas. The thing that threw the pirate in training off was the scars that were littered across its body. This one seemed to be strong.

Jaune began to approach the monkey until it turned its head at lightning speed. The monkey's eyes were yellow and showed great wisdom. Its face was stern. It stopped eating and stood up. Jaune got into his stance, getting ready to fight. The thing that he didn't expect the monkey to do was to instantaneously vanish and move up to the peak of the mountain. He saw a trail being made by how fast he was going. Jaune gaped at the speed that was shown. There was only one thing that was clear in his mind. He has just met the leader of the monkeys.

He decided that it was time to go down the mountain. As he walked down the mountain, he couldn't help but think about the leader. How much power did one need to be able to move that fast. The thought scared him. What scared him even more was that he was going to have to fight him sooner or later.

* * *

-At the Peak of the Mountain-

The leader was sitting atop at the cold peaks looking outward toward the sea. He was chewing on the delicious fruit of the island. He ate the fruit with gusto and swallowed hard.

"I didn't expect to meet him so soon," he said. His voice was old and sage like. He looked down at the exact location that Jaune was at right now. Although he couldn't see him, he could definitely sense where he was. "I await your arrival Jaune Arc. Though I don't expect you'll reach the top for a good while."

* * *

-Back at the cottage-

Jaune finally reached the cottage and told Mana what happened.

"So you met Enma huh?" She said calmly.

"So his name is Enma?" Jaune said. For the leader, it was a very fitting name.

"Yep. Even though you saw a small amount of what he was capable of, don't too much about it. Once you reach the top, you'll definitely be ready to fight him. I guarantee it. Now then, I've been holding this off for a while, but I think now is a good time as any to teach you." She said.

"What do you mean?" What was it that she held off on teaching him?

Mana walked into a room. About a minute later she came back with a barrel of alcohol as tall as her.

"I'm going to be teaching you how to hold your liquor," she announced.

Jaune looked at the barrel and saw the many possibilities of alcohol poisoning.

"I'm not old enough to drink yet," he said. Hearing this, Mana pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. It seems that she also needed to teach him how to act like a pirate. Because that attitude was going to help him.

"Jaune, you're a pirate. We don't follow the rules. And it seems that along with teaching you how to drink like a pirate, I'm gonna have to teach you how to act like a pirate." This was the most frustrating part about Jaune. He could be so clueless sometimes. She pities the poor girl that will fall for him.

* * *

And that is the end of Chapter 5

In my opinion this chapter wasn't that well written.

The polls are in and the winner is…

The Dendo-Dendo no Mi with 10 votes.

On the polls it does say that the Hai-Hai no Mi ranked the highest, but I also had to include reviews and I asked for the personal opinion of others that are close to me. I am actually happy that it turned out this way because I had no plans whatsoever for the Hai-Hai no Mi. After putting it on their, I kind of realized that it was pretty OP. Jaune will discover his devil fruit in the next chapter. The next one is also going to be the last one for training. We will finally get to see Jaune go off into the world. There is also another poll on my profile asking whether or not I should give Jaune the Rokushiki techniques: Soru, Geppou, and Rankyaku right now or should he learn them himself as he sails along.

See you guys in the next chapter.


	6. Setting Sail and The Warrior Princes

Hello

Okay, so I have pretty much outlined good amount of the story. This Chapter, Jaune will finally go out to see the world. It is finally happening. I'm actually really excited and scared because this is going to be much harder to write now.

Enjoy the Story

* * *

4 years have gone by in a flash. Right now, Jaune is at the shore of the island, sitting in a crossed legged position. He wasn't training today or doing any chores. It was one of his off days. He was just sitting down looking out at the vast ocean contemplating his time here. He has learned so much and has come so far in these four years. In these four years, he has learned to properly fight against others. At one time, he was afraid that he was not going to have enough experience when he left, but that thought was eliminated about a year ago.

* * *

 _-Flashback-_

 _Even though a lot of Jaune's training is combat, Mana still is able to sneak in some regular exercise. Although, doing handstand pushups in the sand with a giant boulder as a weight is not something that is seen regularly. Jaune didn't seem to be bothered by the weight whatsoever._

" _231,232,233,234,235,236…" As Jaune was doing this, Mana was drinking until she looked up and saw a moderate size ship sailing towards them. She raised an eyebrow and took another swig from the bottle. Must be some wannabe pirates. It doesn't happen often since not many people come to these parts. She would have Jaune deal with them. It would also be good to see for himself far he has come._

" _274,275,276…"_

" _Jaune," she said to get his attention._

" _Yeah?" He asked. He paused in the middle of what he was doing._

" _Get up, we have company." As she said this, she pointed outward toward the sea._

 _Jaune bended his legs and launched the boulder of his feet. He flipped himself back onto to his feet and looked where she was pointing. He put a hand over his head to cover his eyes from the sun._

" _It's a ship," He says._

" _Obviously," she says._

" _What do you want me to do about it?"_

" _Make it go away?"_

" _I can't get into the water cause I'll sink, and if I shoot from here they'll be stuck out there." Mana sighed in frustration. This was her island. HER island. They are on her property and she wants them gone now. It seems that they will have to wait for them to land before they can kick them out._

 _It didn't long for the ship to come to shore. Mana and Jaune looked up at the ship and heard cheers from the ship. They saw someone come up to the helm of the ship. It was a man that looked like he hasn't showered in days. His wardrobe is comprised of mostly navy blue. From the cliché hat and coat he was wearing, they could tell that he was the captain._

" _Land Ho!" The unknown pirate yelled. When he did, more cheers could be heard from the ship. Soon, all of the crew members began to climb off the ship and walked to shore. There was about twenty of them in total. They didn't seem to notice Jaune or Mana at all. Just as they were about to walk inland, Mana called out to them._

" _Hey, dumbasses!" She called out to them. She was even more annoyed. First they come onto her island and now they don't even notice her. She was going to make them pay. They seemed to have heard her and turned to find whoever called them dumbasses. They looked around until their eyes were fixed on both Jaune and Mana._

 _The captain didn't think much of Jaune, but his heart skipped a beat when he saw Mana. She was beautiful. They wanted her. It got pretty lonely on a ship full of men. At that moment, he decided that he was going to have her. He puffed out his chest and walked over to the object of his affection with swagger._

" _Argggh, what is a fair lady like yourself doing in these dangerous waters?" The captain asked. He gave her his best smile. His teeth were rotting and he already had a few of them gone. The exposed part of his body were covered in grime, and his facial hair was uneven and had food stuck in it. He must have smelled bad because Jaune who was the closest to him at the moment was squeezing his nose to block the smell. Mana scoffed at the question. There was nothing dangerous about this area at all. Plus, he was trying to use an obviously cliché "pirate" accent. She was right. They were just wannabe pirate._

" _Well Jaune, what are you waiting for? Get them off my island." She said. She wanted them gone now._

" _Since when was this your island?" He retorted. She feels like she had something to do with that smart mouth he has now. The captain was looking between the two that were now arguing. He was being ignored. He didn't like that. In anger, he took out his pistol and pointed it at Jaune's head. This got their attention. Jaune didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that he had the barrel of a gun on the side of his head. In fact, he looked annoyed more than anything._

" _Can you not?" He asked calmly. If this was a few years ago, he would have been scared to death. As time went on, he found things that were much scarier, like his master. She was a scary woman when she wanted to be. This man before him wasn't scary at all. He was just a man with really poor hygiene._

" _You best not offend me anymore boy," the pirate captain growled out. Jaune kept looking at him with a neutral look. Suddenly, Jaune vanished and reappeared behind the captain. He raised his leg high and delivered an axe kick to the top of man's head. The wannabe pirate dropped his gun and fell on the ground in an unconscious heap._

 _The captains crew looked at Jaune with shock and apprehension. It wasn't every day you saw someone seemingly teleport and knock someone out with only one hit. They then realized that they had numbers on their side. They rushed at Jaune and let out a war cry. They drew their swords and guns with the intent to kill. Jaune rushed at them. The pirates fired their guns, but Jaune once again disappeared from sight. He reappeared in right in front of them and kicked the one at the front and sent him flying. This caused for the pirate sent flying to crash into his comrades and knock them over._

 _Jaune weaved through the pirates effortlessly, while at the same time consecutively knocking them out without fail. There were only two pirates left. One came behind Jaune and put him in a full nelson. That poor pirate didn't know who he was grabbing. Sparks of electricity began to come off Jaune and shock the pirate holding him. Unable to handle the shock, the pirate let go. Jaune positioned his body to deliver a powerful donkey kick to the one that grabbed him._

 _Now there was only one. It seems that he was pretty shaken up considering that some kid beat up his comrades in less than two minutes. Jaune turned his head toward the last remaining pirate. Jaune walked over to the captain and kicked him over to where the rest of the unconscious crew was._

" _Take your captain and your crew and leave," he ordered. The pirate got to work and began to get each one of his crew members onto the ship. Once he got the captain aboard, Jaune walked over to the ship and pushed it with his foot. The ship flew off with the force of the push. Jaune turned to Mana who decided that it was better to just sit and enjoy the beat down._

" _Happy?" He asked._

" _You need to learn how to use your devil fruit for more than just shocking people," she responded._

 _-End Flashback-_

* * *

Yes, he did finally discover his devil fruit. It was called the Dendo-Dendo no Mi (Zap-Zap Fruit). To put it simply, he was an electric man. He could conduct high amounts of electricity from his body. In the time that he has had to really practice with it, he has only learned how to properly control and use it for combat. Even though he has learned a lot about his power, he still feels as if there is so much more that he is capable of doing. What it is? He doesn't know. What he does know is that it isn't a fruit with a stupid power. As he thought this, the sea breeze came and blew on his moderately long hair.

For two years, Jaune hasn't cut his hair. His hair now reaches a his upper to mid back. His hair had a certain characteristic of wildness to it, but at the same time it held a noble grace. It was like lightning, a regal and wild force of nature. He doesn't know why he doesn't want to cut his hair, it just didn't feel right if he did.

Having spent enough time at the beach, Jaune decided to get up and walk back to the cottage. He also needed to have a very important talk with his master. As he walked through the forest, he looked around and reminisce. He was going to miss this place a lot. Jaune decided to take it slow walking through the forest because this maybe the last time, he will see this place in a while.

* * *

-The Cottage-

Jaune finally arrived at the cottage. This cottage that he has lived in for four years that he has been here. In front of the small house, he saw his master. He saw that she was sitting down enjoying a drink to herself. He doesn't know why she likes the taste of alcohol so much. That didn't matter right now though. What mattered was what he had to talk to her about.

"Master," he called out. Mana stopped her drinking and looked up at him.

"You called?" she responded.

"Can we speak inside?" there wasn't a difference between the outside and the inside. It is just that a lot of important talks were done inside the cottage. Mana got up from where she was sitting and walked inside. Jaune followed her in. Once inside, they sat down and got themselves comfortable.

"So what was so important that you needed to talked to me about?" She asked. She put the bottle away and had her full attention on what her student was about to say.

"I think that it's that I leave," he announced. He felt that it was time. It was time to go. Jaune could feel it in his gut. He didn't know what it was, but his gut told him that it was time to go.

"You haven't even completed your training. You still haven't gotten to the top of the mountain. Why do you feel the need to leave now?" She asked perplexed. Jaune was strong and as he was now, he could get to the red line with no problem.

"I don't know. All I know is that I feel like I will miss out on an opportunity of a lifetime if I don't go now," he answered.

Mana was silent. She kept her jasper eyes fixed on the person she had the privilege of seeing grow. She remembers when they first met. He was once a boy that wasn't so sure of himself. He wasn't the strongest, but he had a good heart. Now she sees a man in front her who was now all the things that he wasn't before. He wasn't perfect. He still had some problems, but that is what makes Jaune, Jaune. She was sure that he would do fine out there.

"Okay," she simply said.

"Really?" He was surprised. He was sure that she would have refused by saying that he wasn't ready.

"Yeah. I feel that you're ready and getting real experience out there will help you excel even more. I didn't really have anything left to teach you anyway." She seems to be taking this very well. She stood up and made her way towards the door. "Let's get you a boat so you can get out of here."

"You have a boat?" He was surprised. He thought she was going to have him make his own.

"Yeah, it's just on the ship." She opened the door and walked out towards her old ship. Jaune shot up and ran to catch up to her.

* * *

-20 minutes later-

It was a rowboat. It was a nicely made one, but all the same it was a rowboat. This was the boat that he would start his adventure in. He doesn't know why he was expecting something more. As Jaune looked at the boat and sighed while sagging his shoulders.

"From small beginnings comes great things," he quoted.

"That's the spirit," she said spiritly. "Now get in the boat."

The boat was already in the water. Jaune climbed on sat down. He picked up the paddles and looked at his master. He flashed her a smile. One that was filled with spirit and determination. Today, was the day he would begin the long climb to the top. He was ready. Mana saw this and smiled back.

"I promise that I'll make you proud. I will find my dream and complete yours at the same time. I will stand at the top with the best." He announced.

"I know you will. You are my student after all. I expect nothing, but the best. _'Plus you've already made me proud,'_ she thought additionally. Jaune pushed off with the paddle and began to float away from the shore. Once he was deep enough, he began to row. Mana kept her eyes on him.

He was leaving. She actually didn't want him to leave. She didn't want to be alone again like she was before. Even though this was how she felt, she didn't express these thoughts. She couldn't just keep him here. She didn't notice that she was crying until the first tear slid down her face. She wiped the tears from her eyes and waved. Soon, he was out of sight.

* * *

\- 2 Days later at The Town of Symmestria-

Symmestria. A beautiful port town owned and ruled by the royal family of Cappadocia. It wasn't a big town, but it wasn't small either. In the middle of the town is a grand mansion that stood higher than any of the buildings or houses. In the mansion resides the daughter of king of the Cappadocian kingdom. Her name is princess Cara Cappadocia. She was in every sense of the word a princess. Her beautifully decorated black hair, her angelic face, her exquisite wardrobe, and her model like figure. Many have fallen victim to her charms and ask for her hand in marriage. Each and every one of them she has refused.

Right now she was sneaking out of the mansion. Before she could leave, she was going to need someone who could cover for her. Her personal butler, Yoppo, was the only one that knew what she did and made sure that she didn't get caught. She walked into her room and opened her closet. In it was just a bunch of dresses. She ignored those and pushed them to the side. In the back of the closet were holes that allowed grip. She put her fingers into the holes and pulled. Lo and behold there was something behind it. It was soldier armor that she stole from the barracks.

She stripped out of the dress that she was wearing right now and began to equip the armor. As always the armor was uncomfortable, but it did well to hide her appearance. Once she was done equipping the armor she reached into the closet again and what came out was an average bladed spear. Once she had everything, she snuck out and made her way for the soldier training grounds. This was around the time that the soldiers would be doing mock combat. Good thing was that they let others who were interested in learning join.

Once Cara made it to the training grounds, she called out to the soldiers in a deep voice to not get found out. She would come here regularly to fight the soldiers. She first started doing this about 7 years ago at the age of 14 when she became intrigued and wanted to experience what it was like to battle. She loved fighting. It was the thing that excited her most. It also helped that she a natural affinity towards, especially with the bladed spear. As of now, she was able to outmatch all of the soldiers in battle.

It was the same as usual, find a sparring partner, spar for 10 minutes and then find a new partner. The problem was that she was too quick with her spear and broke through their defenses quickly and had them yield. Doing this regular routine was beginning to get boring to Cara. There was no challenge at all. After two more spars, she decided that she was done and left the training grounds.

* * *

-With Jaune-

Jaune's first two days as a pirate weren't the best. It took him 2 days to actually row himself here to this town and he didn't have anywhere to sleep. Afraid that he might fall into the water, he decided to sleep on one of the roof in the town. His back seems to hate him for that now. Things weren't looking up until he saw him. His first potential crew member. He was exploring the town and wound up at the training grounds and this one person effortlessly defeat "his" sparring partners in less than a minute.

It seems that the person was not satisfied and left. Jaune decided that he was going to follow him. He began to tail the armored "man" from a safe distance. The "man" didn't seem to notice Jaune tailing him. The location that Jaune followed the "man" to was a mansion. Jaune cursed at this. He couldn't go inside himself. He decided to get a view from up high. Jaune jumped up high and started jumping on nothing but air.

* * *

-With Cara-

Cara walked into the mansion. No one was going to question her because they thought that she was one of the guards doing patrol. She was stressed. She hasn't had a good fight in a while. The soldiers here only know how to do basic combat and nothing beyond that. At her real home in Cappadocia, the soldiers were much more skilled and experienced. She wanted a challenge.

She thought about this as she was nearing her room. She opened the door and slammed it shut. She took off the uncomfortable and sweaty armor. She was going to have Yoppo clean them later. Underneath she was wearing jean shorts and a tank top with a simple brand. While she like to fight, she would rather that she doesn't have to wear that suit of armor. As she was putting the armor and spear back in their hiding place, she heard a voice from outside.

"So you're a girl?" the voice said. She jumped at this and saw a blond man about her age standing at the window looking at her. "My name is Jaune Arc," he started. "And I want you to join my crew."

* * *

And that is the end of Chapter 6. This chapter is shorter than most, but I saw that it was good to stop here. I don't like this chapter that much because it seems too rushed from my perspective. So yeah, Jaune has finally met his first crew mate. And she is a princess, not like that is not going to cause him any trouble. By the time I post this, there should be a character sheet for Cara.

See you in the next chapter.


	7. The Adventure of a Lifetime

Hello

Here is a new chapter. Also The updates may not come as regularly. I will try to publish a chapter within week. Also if you haven't notice. Jaune is acting a little bit different. Why? It's his devil fruit. I am someone that believes that a devil fruit has a small influence on how someone acts and what their style is. Since Jaune has eaten the Dendo-Dendo no Mi, he can be hasty about some things. Why he grew out his hair is also an influence of his fruit. Lightning is associated with gods, divine beast, or noble creatures. Jaune's hair is like his pride. He's not going to act like Yang who will hospitalize someone for touching her hair, but it is still important to him. That's all I have to say

Enjoy the Chapter

* * *

So it seems that sneaking in through someone's window was not the best of ideas. While Jaune is far from stupid, his own excitement can get ahead of him. Right now the owner of the room that he has infiltrated is trying to stab him through with a spear. While the spear strikes were fast, they were not fast enough for Jaune to be alarmed. He kept moving out of the place where the spear would strike next. Seeing that she had no plans on stopping soon, he grabbed the spear on its next strike and yanked it from her hands.

"Okay, I admit that sneaking into someone's room will cause for them to panic, but can you hear me out?" He said. He felt the chances of getting her on his crew were beginning to fade away. Sneaking into her room was probably a big hit to his chances.

Right now, Cara was not in the best position right now. She couldn't fight well without a spear and her spear was across from her in the hands of this man. From what she tell, he was pretty strong.

"Fine," she said.

"Great. So I just got here recently and I was walking around and I saw you fighting. You easily defeated each one of your opponents in less than a minute. The moment I saw you, I knew that you had to be on my crew. So I followed you here." Jaune said.

"You're a pirate?" Cara asked.

"Yep, just started two days ago," he said.

"Why would you want me on your crew? Do you even know who I am?" She asked. Who would have the gall to ask a princess to join their pirate crew?

"Not really," he said sheepishly.

Okay so that explains it. Well it seems that she would have to be the one to educate him. "My name is Cara Cappadocia. I am the princess of the kingdom of Cappadocia. Now I will ask you again. Why do you want me on your crew?" She said.

"Because you're good at fighting and you will meet a lot of strong people if you do join," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Jaune decided to get comfortable and sat down on the ledge of the window.

Okay, so he had a point there. It is true that she loves to fight and if she did, she would have the opportunity to fight people out there who are stronger. Everything that he said was true. But she was a princess and she couldn't just leave.

"I am the princess. I have duties that I need to attend to. I can't just leave because I feel like it."

"Yes you can. Besides, do you even like being a princess?" he asked.

No, Cara didn't. In fact, she hated it. It was boring, everyone around her had a false persona, she had no freedom, and people only knew her as the princess. She didn't want to be known as some dainty princess who was just going to be married off. Even though she thought this she didn't say it.

"And how do you know what I like?" she asked.

"I don't really know what you like, but I do know that you like to fight. I can tell from looking at this spear, that it has been through a lot. I don't think people would like you fighting, so I guess that is why you have that suit of armor. I didn't even know you were a girl until you took that armor off. Plus, if you walking off from the training grounds that early in the sparring, then they must not be that good. You won't get stronger if you stay here, so why not come along?"

Everything he said was true. She has been disappointed recently with the skill of the soldiers. Or maybe it was that they couldn't keep up with her anymore. No one there is able to match her anymore and it was annoying. The offer was tempting, but she still couldn't. She had responsibilities.

"I will have to refuse the offer," she said.

Jaune deflated at the response. He was really hoping that she would agree. Maybe there was some other way that he could convince her. He was going to have to think about that later. He got off from the ledge of the window and walked over to hand the spear back to Cara. He began to walk back to the window since it was his only way of getting out without getting caught. Before he left, he decided to say one more thing.

"If you ever change your mind, I will be here for the remainder of the week," he said. He climbed through the window and leaped out. Cara looked at the spot where he sat for a good five minutes. She was contemplating what happened and the opportunity that she was presented with. The opportunity to become stronger than she was now. She looked at the spear in her hands. It old and beaten, and looked like it was going to break soon. She was going to have to get another one later.

She walked to her closest and stowed her gear away. It was already nighttime, so she began to put on her sleepwear for tonight. As she laid down in her bed to sleep, the thought of seeing the world and becoming stronger kept pervading her thoughts. It wasn't until about a couple hours later where her eyes naturally became heavy that she finally fell asleep.

* * *

-The Next Morning-

Cara woke up. It was early in the morning and she felt tired. Her eyes were bloodshot and she had dark rings surrounding her eyes. Just as she was about to go back to sleep, her butler Yoppo came in. He walked in with her morning breakfast and tea, just like every morning.

Yoppo showed no signs of exhaustion. Although he had some wrinkles due to age, his face was vibrant and young. His tuxedo was neat and nothing seemed to be out of place. His greying hair was combed back neatly with not a hair out of place. His face was barren of any facial hair, due to shaving this morning.

"My lady it is time to wake up, your breakfast is ready," he said. The only thing that he got in response was a loud groan. Usually the word breakfast was enough to get her up. Cara was someone that did not play around with food, so that means that she was really tired if she was not responding to the mention of food. If he could, he would let her sleep in, but she had duties to attend to. "My lady, you need to wake up. You have your lessons that you need to get ready for."

There was a short pause of silence until Cara decided to finally speak. "What's for breakfast?" She asked. She still didn't want to get up, but maybe food will make her feel better about it. She didn't like most of the food that the chef cooked. A lot of it was too exquisite for her taste. She has asked the chef to cook her a simple meal before, but he seemed offended that she would ask him to cook commoner food.

"A spinach omelette with peppers and cheese with a side of beans and toast," he answered. She considered her options. She didn't like spinach and she didn't like beans and toast. She was just going to have to make due. She sat up in the bed and beckoned Yoppo over to her. Yoppo began his walk towards her and set the tray with the food and tea in her lap. She stared down at the food with tired eyes. She picked up the utensils on the tray and began to eat. Today was going to be a long day, she could feel it.

After she was finished eating, she called in the maids to dress her. Once she was dressed, the hairdresser came in and began to work on her hair. For her hair it takes a while to get all the knots out and comb it to get the luxurious waviness her hair is known for. While her hair was being groomed, both her hands and her feet were being attended to.

She woke up at around six in the morning and now it was nine by the time that she was done and ready to start her day. She was given personal tutors in many fields and subjects that she was required, as a princess, to know. She had tutors in geography, history, speech, math, science, art, etiquette, dance, and singing. This was her whole day and she hated every minute of it. During no part of the day did she even smile. By the time she was done, the sun was beginning to set and the soldiers were about to start their sparring training.

"Yoppo, cover for me," she ordered. As always Yoppo complied. The reason why he did so was because this was the only thing that was exciting her. It was also a great outlet for her since she was always so stressed from the day of tutoring and lessons. He was not that worried about her getting hurt since was better than most of the soldiers. He was willing to do this small favor for her if it kept her happy and content. He watched with a smile as Cara rushed off to her room.

Cara reached her room and slammed the door behind her. She tore open the closet with vigor and grabbed her armor and spear. Today was long and horrible like she expected and she was frustrated. She quickly put on her armor and went to the training grounds. She didn't care if the soldiers weren't good enough anymore, she needed to release some steam.

The spars have started and Cara began to mercilessly beat all of her opponents. She viciously began each spar with an attack that quickly disarmed the opponent and had them conceding. Even though she did this, she didn't feel any better whatsoever. She was now getting frustrated at how incapable these soldiers were when it came to combat. The sparring participants were now looking at her in apprehension, not wanting to fight her. Her frustration began to grow from these thoughts, until she heard a familiar voice call out to her.

"Hey, do you want a sparring partner?" It was Jaune. He was standing in front of the training grounds with a relaxed smile. She glared at him. He may have been able to disarm her the night before, but that was only because they were in a closed spaced. Now that the area was more open, what chance did he stand against her?

"Fine," she said in her fake deep voice. She wanted to see what he was capable of. Hopefully he was able to keep up with her, but she highly doubted that. Jaune beamed with excitement and walked up to her. The soldiers looked at Jaune and snickered. No has been able to beat the armored man in a duel before. He didn't look like much from what they could tell. They would enjoy seeing someone besides themselves getting beaten. Even though Jaune heard them laughing at him, he paid them no mind.

Jaune was now standing across from Cara. They both got in their stances, ready for the fight to start. Once the sparring instructor said start, Cara blasted off towards him. She saw that he had no armor and flipped her spear, so that the bottom was facing forward. She extended her spear arm in a piercing motion. When the spear neared Jaune, he brought up his leg and blocked it with his shin. There was a loud noise from the force of the attack, but Jaune didn't look to be in any sort of pain.

Cara brought back her spear and began to do rapid stabbing motions directed at Jaune. Jaune dodged each and every one of the attacks with practiced ease. The attacks were fast, but they were nothing compared to his master's strikes. Cara began to incorporate a variety of attacks into her assault. From side swipes to twirls of the pole. It was a very stylish attack form, but still very formidable. Jaune blocked and dodged all of the strikes. He hasn't attacked once since this whole fight. Was he not taking her seriously? She withdrew from her assault.

"Why aren't you attacking? Do you not see me as a worthy opponent?" She asked. He was beginning to piss her off. Did he think that because she was a girl, that she wouldn't stand a chance against him?

"No, it's not that. It's just that you aren't taking me seriously either," he said.

"You aren't wearing any armor, you could get hurt if I'm not careful enough. Now, come at me with all that you have." She said. She got back into her stance, ready to attack once more. Jaune looked her and just sighed. Suddenly he disappeared, which greatly alarmed Cara. She looked around for him, but it was too late because he had planted his knee in her abdomen. The force of the strike was like nothing she has ever felt. She stumbled back a few steps to keep herself from falling over. She looked up and saw that he was smiling at her.

"Will you take me seriously now?" He said teasingly. To add insult to injury he made the come hither gesture.

Cara glared at him. She flipped her spear so that it was now pointing at him. She was going easy on him before, but now it was no holds bar. She blasted off faster than before, but Jaune didn't even seem be surprised. She expertly twirled the spear and used the momentum from the spinning to land an angled slash aiming for his shoulder. Although Jaune wasn' surprised by her foot speed, he was surprised by the speed of the attack. He narrowly dodged the attack by moving back. Cara carried through with the strike and it hit the ground shattering the earth beneath. The impact created a five-foot crack in the earth. Jaune was going to need to get serious. Jaune vanished again planning using a surprise attack.

Cara tried to avoid the attack, but failed once again. Soon, he started appearing and reappearing all over the place. He would confuse her and attack her in intervals. At first Cara kept getting hit, but soon she was able to narrowly avoid the kicks. She started striking back herself. She had to utilize every sense in her body to avoid and counter those attacks. Finally, she successfully dodged one of his kicks and went to counter. Sensing the danger of the situation, Jaune pivoted his body and brought his foot up to block the head of the spear. Cara pushed on her spear, but his foot didn't seem to budge.

They were at a dead lock when Jaune did something that she would have never expected. Electricity began to coil around his foot. With a mighty push causing Cara stumbled back, Jaune flew back from the push, but he recovered by landing on one foot. He pushed off with his planted foot with his electrified leg in the air and flew at Cara.

"Dendo-Dendo no Cannon Shot!" He shouted. The attack was a lot stronger than any of his others that he hit her with. Cara doubled over from the hit and started coughing up spit. Seeing that this was Jaune's victory, the sparring instructor stopped the spar. The soldiers who laughed at Jaune were now in shock. He just defeated the person that they thought could never lose, and to top it all of he was a devil fruit user.

Jaune began to walk over to Cara who was clutching her abdomen in pain. He extended his hand towards her to help her get up. He looked down at her with a compassionate smile. Cara looked up at him and grit her teeth. She slapped his hand out of the way.

"I don't need your help!" She shouted.

Jaune looked at her sadly. Jaune turned around and then began to walk off. Cara watched his back as he left. She thought back to the fight that just happened. That was the first time that she has ever pushed herself that much. She was tired, she was in pain, and she was sweaty. Even though she was all these things, she remembered the thrill and excitement that she felt. Even after he delivered that last strike, she was ready to get up and keep fighting with everything she had. She wanted to fight him again. With the pain in her abs fading away, she began to go in search of Jaune. She was going to find him and she was going to have him fight her again.

* * *

-With Jaune-

Jaune was now walking around town planning to go eat one of the restaurant. Thankfully, Mana gave him some money to start off with before he left on his journey. He really did have a lot to thank her for. As Jaune walked past a gap between two buildings, he heard something.

"Psst."

Jaune's thoughts were interrupted and stopped in his tracks. He turned around to look at the source of the sound. From the gap was an armored hand beckoning him over. When he saw the armored hand, he assumed that it was Cara, since he doesn't think that a soldier would be hiding between buildings. He walked over to the gap, curious about what she wanted. When he looked in the gap, he saw who he assumed to be Cara still in a suit of armor.

"Hey Cara, what do you need?" He said. As he said this, Cara shushed him and put a hand over his mouth. She began to look left and right making sure that no one heard what he had just said. Once she was sure they were in the clear she released her hand from his mouth.

"Don't say my name out loud dumbass. I'm not supposed to be out here," she said.

"Okay got it. So what do you need?" He asked again. Although he couldn't see her face due to the helmet, he could tell from her body language that she was uncomfortable.

"You said that you were going to be here for the remainder of the week right?" She asked.

"Yeah, I did say that," he said. What was she getting at?

"Well…could you come tomorrow and spar with me?"

Jaune wasn't really expecting to hear that. From how she has acted towards him, he thought he wasn't well liked by her. It just seems that she wasn't used to losing.

"Sure," he said.

"Really?!" she said excitedly. Her voice echoed due to the helmet she was wearing. What was that about not letting people know you were here?

"Yeah, I'll just be around town doing errands to get money. I won't have much to do at the end of day." He said. He didn't have a lot of money left on him. Starting off is pretty hard. Jaune began to walk. "See ya," he said.

* * *

-The End of the Week-

Each day for the remainder of the week, Jaune was Cara's sparring partner. In that time, Cara learned a lot from each fight they had. Though it was a short amount of time, Cara learned how move her body more efficiently, Her strikes were much more precise, she could put more power behind her attacks. While she didn't win any of the fights, she enjoyed every spar. One day in particular, Cara was curious about why Jaune wanted to be a pirate, and so she asked.

* * *

 _-Flashback-_

" _Hey Jaune," she said. All the soldiers were gone from the training grounds and now it was just them. Cara was dead tired. Due to his training, Jaune was only slightly winded. The sun couldn't be seen anymore, but there was still a small amount of light._

" _Yeah?" he asked._

" _Why is it that you decided to be a pirate?"_

" _Why so curious?" He asked teasingly._

" _I just am,"_

" _Well, it started when I got shipwrecked and landed on an island…" He began to recount his series of unfortunate events and what led up to his decision to becoming a pirate. "So that is when I decided to be a pirate. I wanted to go throughout the world and find meaning in my life and at the same time fulfill my master's dream. This like a second chance at life, so I'm not going to take it for granted."_

" _Isn't the life of a pirate dangerous?" She asked. It's true. You are labeled a criminal, you have to worry about the threat of the Marines, and the chances of dying are extremely high. Why would anyone want to be a pirate?_

" _Yeah, you're right that the life of a pirate is dangerous. But it is also a life that offers the most freedom. Most of my life, I've always been scared of taking risk and instead chose the coward's way out. It's not a dream, if you're not willing to risk your life for it. That's why I chose to be a pirate. It's a life of freedom, danger, and discovery." His was calm and full of confidence. Cara stared at him with an inkling of respect. He was someone that was willing to go that far for his dreams. He didn't care what anyone said, he was still going to do it. She thought back to his offer from a few days ago about joining his crew. She didn't know what it was, but she felt that she could put all of her faith in him and he wouldn't let her down. She felt that this man here had the power to change the world. And she wanted to be there to see it happen._

" _So this is your last day here right?" She asked._

" _Yep, I'll be leaving in a few hours," he said._

" _What if I said that I wanted to come with you?"_

" _Then I would wait for you to get ready."_

 _-End Flashback-_

* * *

It was now nighttime, and right now Cara was getting ready to leave. She was going to be pirate. She discarded her armor and chose to wear something stylish. She was sitting in her room in front of the mirror in a high collared purple sweater and tight black jeans. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her had went for scissor on her dresser. She bunched up her hair and cut off a good length of hair. After that was done, she stood and walked out of her room.

Where she was going to was the armory. The spear that she usually used was close to breaking due to years of abuse and now she needed a new one. Once she made it to the armory, she began her search for where the spears were in the dark.

She finally ran into the spears and was about to grab the nearest one until she looked over and saw another spear separate from the others. The head of the spear a lot bigger than any of the others. Unlike most spears, this one only had one side and it seemed to have a curve to it. The shaft looked like it could withstand the worse of attacks. It looked simple in design, but it was powerful. She picked up the spear to see how it felt in her hands. It was heavy, but nothing that she couldn't get used to. She decided that she would take this one with her. As she was leaving, a candlelight shined on her face.

"My lady, what are you doing in here?" It was Yoppo.

"Yoppo, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"This is around the time that I patrol the property. Now what are you doing here?" He asked sternly.

"I'm leaving to become a pirate," she said. A spike a fear and apprehension began to rise in the butler.

"What are you saying, you can't be a pirate. You are a princess, you have duties to attend to," he said. He was hoping that he could make her see reason.

"I don't want to be a princess. I want to be free, I want to face strong opponents, I want to live a life worth living." Cara began to walk past Yoppo, until he grabbed her hand with the tightest grip that he could muster.

"I allowed you to go the training grounds because I saw that it was a good outlet for you. You were good enough to best the soldiers so I was not worried about you getting injured. But I will not allow you to go out there and possibly die. The people out there are monsters. You won't stand a chance against them," he said.

"Then I will get stronger. I will become strong enough to stand above the rest," she said. She was adamant about this. Nothing was going to change her mind.

"You won't be strong enough no matter what you do! You will never be able match them! It is only a fools dream!" He shouted.

Cara's eyes went wide. Seconds later, her eyes narrowed and she yanked her hands from his grip. She looked at him with the hardest eyes.

"I'm still leaving and I have nothing else to say to you," she said. She ran out the armory and towards the port where Jaune was waiting. Yoppo began to chase after Cara, but she was much faster and he was not as limber as he once was. He stopped seeing that it was futile trying to chase her. He runs to alert the soldiers in hopes that they can stop her.

* * *

-With Jaune-

Jaune was sitting at the port waiting for Cara's arrival. Right now he was staring at his rowboat. He was wondering how Cara was going to feel about it. It seems that his question would be answered soon because he could hear her footsteps. He turns around and sees Cara running to him in new stylish attire and her hair was shorter as well. She began to slow down once the distance between them got shorter until she stopped.

"Why are you wearing that?" He asked.

"What do you mean, these are my casual clothes. They were pretty cheap to. Only about 50,000 beri," she said. Jaune almost choked when she said that. 50,000 beri is not cheap at all. Jaune just sighed and accepted it.

"So where's the boat?" She asked. She was looking around wondering which boat it was.

"Right there," he said. He pointed at the rowboat. Cara stared at the boat. She stared at it for a long time. The more she stared at, the angrier she got. She turned to him with a face of rage.

"You expect me to get on that?" she asked.

"Well do you have a better boat?" he asked.

"Well…Actually, I do," she said in realization.

"Well then lead the way." He said mockingly.

Just as she was about to retort, the clattering of metal footsteps could be heard. Jaune and Cara turned to see, the soldiers armed.

"There they are, get them!" The soldier at the front yelled. They ran towards them with the intent to injure Jaune and detain Cara. To slow them down, Jaune did a rapid roundhouse kick, which produced a blade of wind and hit the soldiers. While it was not strong enough to break their armor, it did the job in slowing them down.

"Well we better get that boat you were talking about," he said. Cara nodded and they both ran down to the port to the ship. The soldiers recovered from the attack and began to chase after them. While they were a good distance away from them, they would be able to catch up to them when boarding the ship. Noticing this, Jaune grabs Cara by the waist and carries her under his arm.

"What are you doing!" She yelled

"Making more distance between them. Keep Looking for the boat," he said. On the next step, he pushes off with a great amount of power. The distance from the soldiers increase drastically. Jaune kept running until Cara tells him to stop. It was medium size boat. There was nothing special about it, but that could be changed later on.

Jaune did another rapid kick that cut the rope keeping the boat in place. He air walked onto the deck of the ship. He began to get the boat ready to set sail. Although he has never physically done this, Mana drilled into his head what to do. It took him some time to know his way around. He let down the sail and the boat began to move. He saw the soldiers in the distance, but he didn't need to worry about them anymore.

The soldiers stopped seeing they had no way of catching up to them in time. They decided to go back and report what happened. Jaune saw that they were leaving and finally relaxed. He looked over to Cara, she looked nervous. It seems that she was realizing what she had just done, and the consequences that would ensue.

"Hey," he called out. She turned to him wondering what he was going to say. "Are you ready for the adventure of a lifetime?" He flashed a toothy smile at her. Cara's expression relaxed. She didn't know what it was, but there was something about him that made her feel that everything was going to be alright.

"Yeah, lead the way captain," she said. The ship sailed into the night. This is the beginning of Jaune's rise to top.

* * *

-With Yoppo-

The princess was gone. The soldiers came back a while ago and told him what happened. They said that there was a blonde man that she was with. Maybe he was the reason that she was having these delusions? He walked to his office. The whole way there, his thoughts were filled with worry for Cara. He finally reached his office and went straight to the den-den mushi. He dialed in a number and waited for the other line to pick up. Someone on the other line finally picked up.

"What it is Yoppo?" It was a deep and menacing voice.

Yoppo gulped. "The princess has escaped saying that she was going to become a pirate. The soldiers said that she was seen with a blonde man."

"What?" The voice was steady, but irritation was clear in his voice.

"I don't know anything else." Yoppo was sweating in fear.

"…I will deal with myself," the voice said.

"…Yes my king."

* * *

And that is the end of chapter 7. So Jaune has unknowingly got himself into some deep shit. So like I said. The schedule that I will try to stick with is a chapter once a week. Also, is anyone willing to do cover art for this story?


	8. The Labyrinth and the Navigator

Hello

Here is the new chapter. I am getting better at length, but I don't know about 10,000 words. This will be the schedule for my updates because this works well for me. In this chapter, Jaune will meet his next crewmate. I will be posting a character description soon into my profile.

Enjoy the chapter

* * *

There are many things in this world that Jaune Arc couldn't believe. When he was a child, it was the power of hunters. As he got older, it changed to the grimm; they were creatures with no souls that only knew to kill. At this time Jaune couldn't believe that someone's stomach could make a noise so monstrous and loud.

It has been a day since Cara has joined his crew and a day that they have been at sea. They weren't able to stockpile any food while at Symmestria, so Jaune was now sailing the ship towards the nearest island. Cara, who Jaune can see is laying on the deck of the ship holding her stomach, is learning the meaning of hunger. For the past five minutes, her stomach has been making sounds that Jaune would have expected from an animal.

"Are we there yet?" Cara groaned out.

"No," he said.

"Do you know when we'll be there?" she said.

"No,"

Cara let out a groan of dissatisfaction. Jaune didn't really know if he was going the right way. All he got was some basic lessons in sailing to help him survive until he got a navigator. Hopefully, they were going the right way.

' _I really need a navigator,_ ' Jaune thought. Another growl erupted from Cara's stomach. ' _And a cook_ ' he added. He couldn't fault Cara for her groaning. This must be the first time that she has gone so long without eating. Jaune looked at her. She left the comforts of her home to join him on his adventure. They were now on a steady course so he left the helm of the ship and went to sit at the bulwark. Besides the sound of the ocean, there was only silence. Jaune decided to make small talk.

"Hey Cara," Jaune said.

"Yeah," she groaned out.

"Since we have some time before we reach the island. How about we tell each other about ourselves?" He asked.

"Why do you want to know?" She asked.

"Well the moment you joined my crew you became a part of my crew you also became my friend. And if we are friends I think we should know stuff about each other," he said. As Jaune said this, one word stuck out to Cara. "Friend." That word was repeated over and over in her head.

"You think of me as your friend?" She asked. He thought of her as his friend. She's never had a true friend before.

"Of course. I don't think that it would be fun if we hated each other. We are a team now. We need to take care of each other." As Jaune said this, Cara started to feel warm inside. This is what it felt like to have friends. It felt great.

"Well then," Cara started. "What is it that you would like to know about me?" She said.

"How about we start with your family?" He said. Cara frowned when he said family. That was a subject that she didn't want to talk about at the moment. Her expression went from a frown to melancholic. Jaune noticed and decided to change the subject.

"We don't have to talk about your family if you don't want to," he said. Cara was brought from her thoughts.

"Really?" She asked.

"Really. If it makes you that uncomfortable, then you don't have to talk about. You can talk about it when you are ready."

' _This must be the benefits of friendship,_ ' Cara thought. Not really, it's just common courtesy. "How about you tell me about you and your family?" Cara asked.

"Then I shall you tell you the boring tale of Jaune Arc," he said jokingly.

Jaune talked to Cara about his family and that soon went over into his time at Beacon. Cara seemed to be deeply interested in story no matter how boring he thought it was. Time seemed to have flied by, because Jaune looked over his should and saw an island in the distance. He got up from where he was sitting and begin to guide the boat so that they could dock. Hopefully they would be able to stock up on food.

They pulled into port and tethered the ship. They got off and saw that the town looked pretty busy. They looked around saw a lot of building and up on a hill was a Marine Headquarters. They began to their walk into town to look for a restaurant. They haven't eaten in a day and they were starving. As they walked through the district they saw that the buildings were pretty tall. They finally saw a restaurant and went in.

* * *

-2 hours later-

Right now, Jaune is looking at Cara with a mix between curiosity and disgust. He has never seen someone eat so much at the speed that she was doing it. Sure there was Nora, but that was Nora. He had three plates of food since he was starving, but Cara hasn't stopped yet. He looked over to her stack of plate and he counted. Fifteen, fifteen plates and she is still going on strong. Hopefully she would stop sooner or later because he was fearing for the dent she would make in his wallet.

After taking one last huge bite out of her meal, Cara was finally done. She sat back in her chair and sighed in satisfaction. She has never had food this good. While the food at the mansion wasn't bad per say, it was just too fancy and served in too small of portions. This is her first time eating commoner food and she has fallen in love with it.

Since they were done, Cara called over the waiter for the check. The waiter quickly came over and handed the slip of paper to Jaune who going to be paying. Jaune looked at the check, he began to sweating, his expression changed into one of horror. It seems that a lot of the food that Cara ordered was pretty pricey and that stockpiled pretty fast. 5,000 Beri. He reached into his wallet to get the money out. That was half of the money that he had. He was really going to have to teach Cara about portion control.

He begrudgingly paid the restaurant his hard earned money, while at the same time glaring daggers at Cara, who seems to still be in Nirvana from the food she just ate. They both got up and began to walk out. As they neared the exit of the restaurant, they heard commotion coming from outside. They walked out to see two Marine soldiers brutally detaining a man. He man was fighting them the whole way through until the soldiers seemed to have had enough and hit him hard over the head. Jaune frowned at this, he may have done something bad, but that didn't give them a right to treat him so badly.

The man wasn't unconscious, but he seemed to have quieted down after that. The soldiers got him on his feet and began to walk away back to the Marine headquarters. Once they were gone, Jaune turned to the person nearest to him. It was an old woman, she seemed to be wearing a sad expression on her face.

"What just happened here?" Jaune asked the woman. She turned to him.

"That man there was just arrested for attacking a Marine," she answered.

"Why would he be attacking a Marine?"

"You're new to Myca town aren't you?" The woman asked. ' _So that's the name of the town,_ ' Jaune thought.

"Yeah, we just got here today," he said. Cara decided to turn her attention towards the conversation that Jaune was having. The woman looked at him and sighed.

"After the death of Gold Roger, many pirates began to pop up to look for his fabled treasure, The One Piece. It was around that time that the Marines started to become strict with how they do things. On this island, the Marines control the people with an iron fist. It got to the point where you can look at them wrong and they will arrest you. That man that just got dragged away, attacked those soldiers because they took his brother away just cause."

Jaune frowned at this. Those Marines were abusing the power that was given to them. They made these people live in fear and those that resisted would be punished. There was also another thing the lady said that perplexed him. ' _Gold Roger? I thought his name was Gol D. Roger?'_ Jaune thought. That didn't matter right now. What mattered was helping these people. Why? Because he wants to.

He needed someone that knew a lot of people. He looked back at the old lady who was now walking away. She must know a lot of people? Jaune ran to catch up to her, with Cara following him.

"Hey ma'am, you must know a lot of people in town right?" He asked.

She turned her head to him. "Yes, why?" she said.

"I want to take down these Marines and free the people," he said.

The old lady looked at him. "Why do you want to help? You don't know anyone here?" She asked. Why would he stick his neck out for people that he didn't know was the question that pervaded the old ladies thought. Maybe he wanted something in return for helping them.

"Because I want to," Jaune said. The old lady didn't expect that answer. Cara looked at Jaune and smiled. She's happy that she was following someone like Jaune. From what she knew about him, he really was a person that helped people because he wanted to. He didn't have any ulterior motives from what she could tell.

The old lady was still skeptical. She glared at him. "I'm not going to endanger the lives of these people because you think that you can help us all. You are only one person, what can you do against a whole military base?"

"Well I also have her with me," Jaune says pointing at Cara. Cara looked at him incredulously. He was actually serious about going into that base. While she was not against the idea of helping these people, it was true that they were just strangers to them.

"If you're not going to help, then I will have to do it myself," he said.

Jaune walks to the middle of the town area and takes a deep breath.

"HEY EVERYBODY!" He shouts. Everyone who was there turned their heads towards Jaune. Some looked curious, while others seemed annoyed.

"I heard about what's happening to you guys and I want to help! I know that you guys are sick and tired of being pushed around by those Marines, so I think it's time to start fighting back! If we come together and we storm the place, we have a fighting chance! Now who's with me?!"

Everyone looked at him like he was crazy. Their faces began to morph into one of amusement. Soon everyone in the area began to laugh. Yes, they were mad about their situation, but they weren't dumb enough to fight against the Marines. You would have to have a death wish by wishing to fight against the Marines.

"You must think we are stupid?" One person in the crowd piped up. "Yeah do you really think that you are strong enough to them on?" Another person in the crowd said. "We gave up a long time ago. It's impossible to go against them."

One after another, the people ridiculed Jaune. Who did he think he was? They didn't want to have any more trouble with the Marines than they already had. Jaune just stood there with his hair covering his eyes. He began to grit his teeth in frustration. Cara looked at him with a worried expression. Why were these people acting so awful? All he wanted to do was help. Jaune decided he had enough and began to walk in the direction of the Marine Headquarters. Cara began to follow him, but not before giving the people one last glare. The old lady saw where they were headed and decided to follow.

"Young man," the old lady called out. Jaune stopped and turned around to look at her.

"What?" He asks.

"You two are pirates aren't you?" She asked. She has seen many things in her years, so there was not much that could get by her.

"Yep," Jaune answered.

"Hmmmm," was the only sound that came out of the old lady's mouth before she began to walk away. Jaune and Cara were perplexed by this, but decided to keep walking. Cara, who was still confused on what they were doing asked Jaune.

"So what exactly are we doing?" She asks.

"We are going to be storming the Marine Headquarters." He said.

"Huh?"

"You can stay back if you want," he said.

There was no way in hell that Cara was going to let him go in there by himself. He was not going to be able to take on everyone in there. Plus, if she didn't go, then she wouldn't get to fight anyone. She's been itching for a fight ever since they docked on the island. She drew the spear from her back and held it at her side. That was a good enough answer for Jaune.

The Marine Headquarters was in sight. The finally made it. Jaune rushed to the giant door and kicked it with all of his might. The door broke from the strength of the kick. The sound of the demolition caught the attention of the Marine's in the courtyard. They looked to see to was the one responsible for breaking the door, but it was hard to see due to the dust. Once the dust cleared they saw to figures. Once the dust settled, Jaune and Cara were in clear view.

"Yo," Jaune said.

"Arrest them!" One Marine yelled. All of the soldiers came running at Jaune and Cara. They both didn't seem that affected by it. Cara was in fact very excited. The two pirates rushed the Marines and began to attack. They used wide sweeping attacks to get rid of multiple foes. Cara was having a field day, getting to fight all these guys was actually giving her somewhat of a challenge. She knew that she could take them all on.

"Jaune, go inside and free the prisoners. I'll can handle these guys," she said. Her face had a feral grin. Jaune saw this and didn't oppose her. Jaune rushed past the Marines and threw some kicks to get some blocking his path out of the way and entered the base to get to the prison. Once Cara saw that Jaune was gone, she began to sweep her opponents with her spear. She was really liking this spear. She wondered if it had a name. She would worry about that later, right now she had some pest to deal with. She cut down the Marines, one after another.

* * *

-With the Old Lady-

The Old woman was now at home sitting in an old and brightly lit room. She was sitting in a comfortably made chair thinking about the two people she has met today. She knew that they were planning of going to the Marine base.

' _If they are planning on freeing the prisoners, then they are in for a big surprise,_ ' she thought. The prison on this island is known at the labyrinth. Even if a prisoner escapes, they will have a hard time getting out. It is so convoluted that the prison guards have to have maps on their person. There was no one that truly knew their way around there. Except for one person, but he was down there in the labyrinth himself.

' _Hopefully, they can find him,_ ' she thought. She decided that she worries too much and closed her eyes to sleep.

* * *

-With Jaune-

After several minutes of running around, Jaune finally found the entrance to the prison. He ran down the stairs that led where everyone was kept. When he finally got down there, he saw that it was bleak. There were prison cells as far as the eye could see. He saw that there were crossroads about every 100 meters. As Jaune was now, he wasn't strong enough to kick open the cells without pushing the door into the people within the cell. He was going to have to find a key. There is usually a hangout zone for the prison guards that hold the keys to the cells. He began his search.

He started running taking random turns, to find the place, but it seemed like this prison was almost endless. Jaune soon realized that he was lost. He doesn't know which way he came from. Everything looked the exact same. It was kind of maddening. Jaune kept running around trying to find his way around, but that wasn't going to work. How was he going to get out of here? He then noticed that it was eerily silent. There were so many people, why weren't they making an uproar. He looked in the cells and saw that there were people in them, but they looked like they have given up hope. They knew that even if they got out of the cell, they had to deal with the labyrinth. Jaune was not sure of what he could do right now.

"Hey," a voice called over. Jaune turned to his left. He saw a man with brown hair in striped prison wear calling him over. Jaune walked over to the man. The cell didn't have much light coming in, but he could see that he was older than him and was had a short beard. "You're lost aren't you?" He seems to have an accent.

Jaune nodded. "Yeah, I was planning on freeing the prisoners, but that kind of backfired," he said.

' _I wonder how Cara is doing?'_ he thought.

* * *

-With Cara-

Cara was having the time of her life. She had some cuts on her because some Marines got lucky. Other than that, she was doing just fine. These guys were going down like flies. Thankfully she had a lot of them coming in mass. Things would have kept going like this until a shout sounded out through the courtyard.

"All of you stand back! Since you can't seem to beat one girl, it looks like I'm gonna have to do it myself!" It was a deep gruff voice. The Marines stopped and complied the moment they heard the orders. It must be the Captain. Cara looked over at the source of the voice and saw the equivalent of a giant. He was big bodied and very buff, he had a giant sword in his big hands, his hair was a light green, and his skin seemed to be tanned from the sun. Without another word, he ran at Cara and swung his sword down at her. Cara raised her spear horizontally to block.

She successfully blocked the attack. She was a lot stronger than she looked. Although the Marine Captain had all that muscle, he couldn't even seem to push any farther with his attack. Cara finally decided to push with her spear, which caused the Captain to stumble back from the surprising strength. She went with an upward slash and disarmed the Captain. She then did a flurry of quick slashes.

"Gale Barrage!" She shouted. The attack was non-lethal, but it sent the Captain flying and onto to the ground unconscious. The Marine soldiers who were watching the battle were now afraid. This girl just singlehandedly beat their captain. If they were going to stand a chance against her, they needed to wake up 'Him'. One brave Marine decided to run to 'His' room to wake him up from his slumber. The others saw what he was doing and decided to buy him time. They once again began to rush Cara. Once again Cara started to take them down one by one.

* * *

-With Jaune-

"I need you to break me out," the man said.

"If I do that, the cage will get sent flying at you," Jaune said.

"It's okay, I'll be able to handle it,"

Jaune still wasn't so sure, but he decided to trust the man's judgement. Jaune nodded and began to take steps back to prepare his attack. The man saw this and decided to get ready. Jaune got in position and blasted off kicking the cell door. The door flew off its hinges and flew at the man. To Jaune's surprise, he caught the door and only skidded back due to the force. Other than that, he didn't seem that affected. This guy is a lot stronger than he looks. He put the door to the side and began to walk out.

Jaune couldn't see him that well due to how dark it was in the cell. He could see from the moment that he got a good look at him that the man had the build of a heavyweight boxer. His neck length brown hair was shaggy due to his time in the cell. "Thank you. The names Finn. You?"

"I'm Jaune. Now, we need to find a way to free the prisoner and get out here." Jaune said. Finn smirked at this.

"I've got that covered, follow me," he said. He began to walk. Jaune followed him.

"You know your way around this place?" He asked.

"Yep, pickpocketed off of one of the guards when I first came here. Didn't take me long to memorize it," he said. Jaune was now looking at him with starry eyes. He probably just met his new navigator. He needed to be sure that he was up to snuff though.

"How good are you with maps?" Jaune asked as they were walking to who knows where.

Finn snorted at his question. "I come from a heritage of people who were known as some of the greatest sailors this world has seen. I learned all I know from my parents. So to answer your question. I am very good at what I do."

"Would you be willing to join my crew?" Jaune said. He couldn't contain his excitement.

"Crew?" Finn asked

Jaune hummed in affirmation. "Yep, I'm a pirate and I plan on heading out to The Grandline and stand the top with the best of the best. Of course, I am going to need the best navigator. So how about it?"

Finn stopped walking and looked at Jaune as if he was studying him. There was a long pause until he decided to speak. "Maybe," he said.

"Maybe?"

"Yes, maybe. I'll think about it." After that was said, Finn started walking again. It seems that they were nearing the hangout because Jaune could see it from a distance away. It seems that Finn was as good as he says he was. They saw two prison guards at the hang out. The moment the guards noticed them, they grabbed their weapons.

"Halt!" One of them yelled. That was all he had the opportunity to say before Jaune in a bout of speed kicked him square in the jaw. Just as Jaune was about to take care of the other guard, Finn was already on the other one and delivered a powerful uppercut to the guard. A good navigator and can hold his own. Jaune was beginning to like this guy. They grabbed the keys and began to free their work in freeing the prisoners.

* * *

-With Cara-

Cara was still beating the Marines mercilessly. As she was beating them all, she heard the shouts of one that was coming in their direction. He running frantically running towards them. Almost like he was running away from whatever was in that direction.

"Everyone make way! 'He's' coming!" He shouted. All the Marines seemed to have understood what he said and backed away from Cara. The Marine was still running towards them, until he was grabbed by the head and held in the air by a man that was pretty tall. Not as tall as the captain, but pretty tall. Why is everyone so tall?

"Did you think that it was funny to wake me up from my nap?" The man sounded young, sleepy, and grumpy. The one who woke the unknown man up was now shaking in his boots.

"I needed to wake you up because this girl was beating us," said the scared Marine. He pointed to Cara who was just staring at them, wondering what was going on.

"Where's the Captain? Shouldn't he be able to handle this?" He asked.

"The Captain didn't stand a chance against her," the Marine replied. He pointed over to where the unconscious captain laid. The man turned his head to where the soldier was pointing. He sighed. Finally, the soldier was dropped. The man started walking over to Cara. The Marines started cheering.

"Yeah, get her Sloth. Show her whose boss!" One Marine yelled. The man now named Sloth didn't even acknowledge the cheers. He looked straight ahead at Cara. She was the reason that he had to be woken up. She needed to be punished for her transgressions. Sloth picked up a sword from the ground and rushed Cara. He went for a side slash. The strike was shockingly fast. Thankfully, Cara managed to block in time. The moment the sword hit the shaft of the spear, Cara felt the force of the hit. This guy was even stronger than the Captain that she fought. She was straining under the force of the hit. She couldn't take another like that.

The Marine were still cheering loudly for Sloth. The fight went on with Cara avoiding Sloth's attacks, while going in with her own. This person was a stronger than her. She knew at this point, she didn't have the skills and experience to take him down. The only thing that she could do was to hope that Jaune gets here soon.

' _Hurry up Jaune,_ ' She thought.

* * *

-With Jaune and Finn-

Jaune and Finn were now leading the now enthusiastic prisoners out of the labyrinth. They could see the exit ahead. As Jaune saw the exit, he was hoping that Cara was okay. They picked up the pace and ran out to the courtyard. Once they reached the courtyard, Jaune saw Cara who was sporting some fresh cuts and across from her is a guy that he has never seen before holding a bloody sword.

The fight was interrupted by the sight of all the prisoners free. All the Marine soldiers were looking scared seeing all of the prisoners. Sloth on the other hand didn't look scared at all. He just started at them annoyance. More work he has to do before he can go to sleep. He disregarded Cara and started walking towards the prisoners, until he was sent back by a flying kick to his face. Jaune saw the condition of his first mate and he was mad. Sloth got sent into the courtyard wall. He was still conscious and pulled himself out the wall.

His face now had the imprint of Jaune's sandal. He was beyond pissed. He rushed at Jaune and began slashing at him. Jaune either avoided the strikes and kicked out. Electricity began to coalesce around Jaune's leg.

"Dendo-Dendo no Cannon Shot!" He yelled. The strike cause Sloth to fold in on himself and sent him flying back into the wall. This time, Sloth was down for the count. The prisoners cheered while the Marines were scared. These guys were strong, but they didn't want to get in trouble with their superior because they were a lot more frightening. They rushed the prisoner and fought with all they had. Jaune and Finn were leading the charge. Jaune was moving all over the place, kicking those in his vicinity while Finn was moving as if he was floating delivering powerful punches. Cara joined the fray as well and used widespread non-lethal attacks.

Soon, all the Marines were down for the count. Jaune, Cara, Finn, and the prisoners tied up all the Marines. The prisoner began to run their way back to town in excitement of seeing their loved ones. The three that were left behind decided to walk.

"Hey Finn, why aren't you running back with them?" Jaune asked.

"I don't have anyone at home waiting for me. My parents are long gone," Finn said simply and bitterly. Jaune was saddened by this. No one deserves to be alone. Jaune was now even more determined to make Finn a part of their crew. As they walked back into town, they saw the people hugging the former prisoners. They were crying tears of Joy. One person looked up and saw Jaune, Cara, and Finn walking into town.

"Thank you all so much!" That person yelled. People turned their attention the three that just came in. Two of them were the people that they laughed at earlier in the day, and the other was Finn. The old lady was also in town and saw Finn.

* * *

-5 hours later-

To commemorate the freedom of their loved ones, the people decided to hold a festival. There was music, drinking, dancing, singing, and people just chatting about. Jaune was in a drinking contest with one of the civilians, while Cara was eating all the food she managed to get on her plate. Finn was just sitting alone watching from afar. It would have stayed like this, someone decided to sit down next to him. It was the old lady.

"Hello Finn," the old lady said.

"Hey Baba," Finn said.

"Why aren't you over there with everyone else partying?" He should be celebrating. He was one of the people that wanted to free everyone the most. So why was he just sitting here alone?

"I was just thinking," he finally said. He just wanted to be alone in his thoughts.

"About what?"

"About my dream," he simply said.

"You're still looking for Vanaheimr?" Finn nodded at the question.

"I got a request from that guy to join his crew. It's my ticket to discovering it, but I just don't know if I should go. They're pirates." Baba understood why he was so conflicted. Pirates were seen as the criminals of the sea by the World Government.

"I've met many pirates in my lifetime Finn," she started. "Some of them were the lowest of the low. They were rotten, they ruined the lives of others, and they held so much malice and greed. There were also some that were kind. They were still pirate and they were still rowdy, but all they wanted was to have a good time." As she said this, she thinks back to a boy she met a long time ago with a straw hat and the widest grin.

"I can tell from looking at those two, that they aren't bad people. Not many people are willing to stick their neck out for people they have barely met. I feel that if you go with them, you will regain something that you have lost," Baba got up from her seat and decided it was time to go home for the night. Finn was left sitting there contemplating Baba's words. Again, he wasn't alone for that long because Jaune and Cara decided to go up and talk to him. Jaune was holding two wooden mugs in his hands, while Cara was right next to him happily stuffing her face with the food.

"What are you doing here all alone?" Jaune asked. He handed him a mug as he said this. Finn grabbed the mug from and looked to see what was inside. It was ale. He hasn't had any ale for a long while.

"I was just thinking about your offer," Finn said. Jaune perked up at the mention. Jaune told Cara about Finn and was so she was also curious to hear his answer. Another friend would be nice.

"So what is your answer?" Jaune asked. He was really hoping that Finn would accept.

"I will join," Finn said. Jaune threw his hands in the air and cheered. Cara was happy, but she wasn't going to cheer. "But!" Finn strongly added. This got Jaune's attention.

"I will only join on one condition. I have a dream of my own that I need to accomplish," he said.

"And what's that?" Jaune asked.

"My dream is to find the place that my people once inhabited. A land known as Vanaheimr," he said.

"Do you know where it is?" Cara asked.

"No," he said flatly. This made Cara mad. He was searching for a place that he didn't even know the location to. That would mean that they would be searching all over the world for it. Who did he think it was?

"Kay," was the answer that Jaune gave him. Finn didn't expect for him to agree so readily. Cara didn't expect Jaune to agree at all. "It's a great dream. A crazy one, but we also have crazy dreams."

Cara didn't think about that. Her dream to stand at the top with the best is something that only a miniscule percentage could achieve. She was trying to achieve something that is practically impossible. Jaune was aiming at becoming one of the Yonko, the four strongest pirates in the world. In retrospect, Finn's dream of finding a place that probably didn't exist wasn't bad.

"We're going to have to stock up on supplies before we leave, so we'll be setting sail tomorrow afternoon. See ya then," Jaune said. He began walking away. Cara stayed behind.

"I don't believe we've properly introduced ourselves. My name is Cara," Cara said. She held out her hand. Finn extended his hand and they shook hands. "My name is Finn,"

"I'm looking forward to having a new friend," Cara said.

"Friend?"

"Yep. The moment you join, you are our friend whether you like it or not. Jaune said that's how it was. I never really had friends, so you are and Jaune will be my first. I'll see you tomorrow," she walked back to the party to grab more food.

Finn looked at the party from afar. He began to smile. "Friends huh? That sounds nice."

* * *

-Tomorrow Afternoon-

Finn was in his small house. Gone were his prison garbs, which were now replaced with a grey t-shirt and a long, olive green cotton jacket he tied around his waist. He wore blue jeans and had flip-flops on his feet. He was taking one last look around his house. On the walls were countless sea charts with markings all over them. He grabbed a leather bag and began to take the charts down. He also packed his clothes in another bag that was by the door.

* * *

-With Jaune and Cara-

Jaune is once again broke. While the people were kind enough to supply them with lots of food. They were not so lucky in getting clothes. Jaune and Cara both forgot to bring clothes with them so they had to go into town and buy them. Jaune didn't really care much, since he could easily wash his clothes and wear them again, but Cara didn't think the same. After they were done, Cara had a full wardrobe and Jaune had an empty wallet. He was really going to have to teach about money or else they are going to be broke for a long time.

"Hey!" A voice said from over the ship. Jaune peered over and saw that it was Finn. Jaune smiled, now that Finn was here, they could finally leave. "Yo! Come aboard!" Jaune yelled back. Finn began to walk up the plank to the ship. He looked around the ship. It wasn't big, but it wasn't small either. This would do.

"You can go down into the ship and pick a cabin. Me and Cara have the first two." Finn nodded and went inside to drop his stuff.

* * *

-30 minutes later-

The sail was lowered and the rope was untied from the ship. The boat began to move away from the docks and out to the sea. Everyone was on the deck of the ship watching the island get smaller and smaller until it was only a speck.

"So Captain, where is that we are headed?" Finn asked.

"We're headed for The Grandline. You don't have to call me Captain you know. Just call me Jaune," Jaune replied. Finn nodded at this. "Wait a moment," Finn said. He walked into the ship to his cabin. A few minutes later he came back with a rolled up map in his hands. He sat down and beckoned for them to do the same. Jaune and Cara complied.

"If we are going to the Grandline, then we want to go here," as Finn said this, he pointed to a land mass in the middle of the map that stretched far. On the map it said The Red Line.

"What's the Red Line?" Cara asked. Jaune was the one to answer her question.

"The Red Line is a pretty much one of the very few entrances into the The Grandline."

Finn nodded at this and pointed a gap that was at the center of the land masses. "This is the entrance known as reverse mountain. It is a stream of water that goes upward into The Grandline." Cara understood this, but she was still confused about one thing.

"You say that is the only way to get in, but I see that it's possible to get in through these two areas," she said.

"That is known as the calm belt. No one knows why, but no wind blows there. Without wind, a ship can't sail. Because of that, the only option is reverse mountain."

Cara nodded, now understanding what they needed to do. "To reverse mountain then," she said. Jaune and Finn nodded. "To Reverse Mountain," they both said.

* * *

And that is the end of Chapter 8. I am getting better at making these chapters longer. There was something that I wanted to explain if it wasn't clear. The ship that they have is around the same size as the going merry. Also if you guys have any questions then PM me. I will answer back as soon as I can.


	9. The Voyage and the Cook

Hello

Here is the full chapter. So Jaune is going to be meeting his cook. In the chapter there is a knife known as a maguro bocho. My description of it doesn't really do it justice, so it would be good if you looked it. It looks really cool though.

Enjoy the Story

* * *

-On the Island-

Mana was relaxing at the beach with her favorite drink. It has been a few weeks since Jaune has left to start his journey as a pirate. She was curious as to how he was doing at the moment. Did he find crewmates? Were they trustworthy people? Did he get lost? These thoughts and more spiraled through her head, until she let out a long sigh.

"I feel like I'm his goddamn mother," she said. She grabbed her bottle and put it to her mouth for a long drink. She gulped the drink with gusto, until the bottle was empty. She took a gasp and relished in the sensation of it going down her throat and to her stomach. She set her drink back down right next to her and just closed her eyes and listened to the voice of the sea.

"So this is where you've been all these years," a voice stated. Mana's eyes shot open. That voice. She knows that voice. She turned her head to the source and saw a man standing a few meters from her with a smile on his face. It was the man that she had met all those years ago. He still had that serene, cocky smile, that wrinkled shirt, those stupid pants, that tan skin, and she couldn't forget about that red hair. It was Shanks. Now that Mana knew who it was, she calmed down.

"What are you doing here? This isn't The Grandline," she said.

"I don't always need to be in The Grandline, I feel that sailing through here is a good time to relax ya know?" Mana sighed at his answer. She knows that is not the reason why he is here. She was going to have to do some probing if she was going to get answer.

"So where's your sash? I've never seen it off of you," he said.

"Where's your hat?" She countered. Shanks laughed. It felt like old times already. Although they didn't meet a lot when they were both at sea, each interaction was something to remember. Mana was not the easiest person to talk to, but when she opened up the talks became an entertaining banter.

"I gave it to someone who I know will take good care of it." He answered.

"Same here," Mana started. "He was a student of mine who helped me through a rough period in my life." Shanks hummed in content at her answer.

"Is he here right now?"

"No, he left a few weeks ago to become a pirate."

"What's his name?"

"Why the hell do you want to know?"

"Maybe if I ever run into him, I can give him a little help. A friend of a friend is a friend of mine,"

"…His name is Jaune Arc. Now tell me about the kid you gave your hat to?" She asked. It was her turn to interrogate him. Shanks didn't seem to mind this at all.

"His name is Monkey D. Luffy," he said with a proud smile. Mana looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Is he related to them?" she asked.

"Yep," Shank said simply.

"So there is a kid out there at sea, who is the son of the most dangerous man in the world and the grandson of the "Hero of the Marines" trying to be a pirate?" She asked exasperatedly. He is related to some of the most powerful people in the world. He was going to having a lot of problems if his heritage gets out.

"Actually, he's going to become the King of the Pirates," Shanks corrected. This caused Mana to pinch her temples. This just seems like a bad situation.

"Doesn't this seem like a bad idea?" She asked.

"I know what you're thinking. Yeah, it does seem like a really bad idea, but that won't stop Luffy from following his dreams. I know that he will succeed and become the King of the Pirates,"

"How can you put so much faith into one person?" She asked.

"Aren't you doing the same thing with your student?" He retorted.

"I never told you my students goals,"

"This is the era of dreams. Everyone has crazy goals,"

"…you got me there," she said.

There was a pause of silence between the two. Mana looked behind Shanks and saw that his ship was a good distance behind him. Mana was wondering how everyone else is doing. She hasn't seen them in so long. She was planning on going over to see them, but she needed to wrap up some business with this frustrating man.

"So what is the real reason you are here, and what happened to your arm? And don't try to bullshit me," she said seriously. Shanks lost his smile and his face turned serious. For the time that Mana has known Shanks, she has rarely seen that expression on his face. She decided to him her full attention.

"I lost my arm saving Luffy, so that doesn't really matter. The reason that I am here is because… I need your help."

This was a first. Mana has never known Shanks as someone to ask for someone's help. "What happened?" She asked.

"It's not what happened, it's what will happen," he said.

"And what is that? I can't help you if I don't know,"

Shanks pointed at the scar on his eye. "This scar that you have seen many times has a story to it. If I tell you, will you come with me and stop what is coming."

Mana looked at him with an inquisitive eye. "It depends on what you tell me," she said.

-Somewhere in the South Blue-

It has been a few weeks since Jaune has been on his journey. So far he has met Cara, the princess of a kingdom, and Finn, their navigator they got a week ago. Right now, Jaune is sprawled on the floor of the ship holding his stomach in hunger, while Finn is chasing Cara around the ship with rage etched on his face.

"How the fuck did you eat all the food in just a week?!" Finn shouted at her. He was pissed at her. They have gone three days without any food since Cara ate it all. They still had the meat, but none of them knew how to cook it properly.

"Shut up! I was hungry! You can't blame someone for being hungry!" She shouted back at him. She pivoted on her heel and drew her spear. She was done running away. Finn seemed to be ready for this and brought up his fist.

"You can when they eat the food that was meant for everyone!" He said. He began to throw punches at Cara, who blocked the strike with the shaft of her spear. Jaune was still on the ground with a dead look in his eyes. He snapped out of it when he heard them both start fighting. He was hungry, he needed a cook, he needed to teach Cara the concept of portion control, and he needed to stop this fight. He got up in a rage fueled by his hunger and walked over to his fighting crewmates.

Cara and Finn were still at it, with either side not giving in. They would have continued if their heads hadn't been grabbed and smashed together. That seemed to have disorient them greatly and they flopped down to the ground like ragdolls.

"Fighting is not going to solve anything! Cara made a mistake and ate all the food, but that doesn't give you a reason to start attacking her. You guys are going to be on the same crew. It would be better if you weren't at each other's throats," Jaune said. Finn was still mad, but he could see the logic in Jaune's statement. Cara wasn't a bad person, she is just someone that can eat a lot.

"And you!" Jaune said pointing at Cara. Cara perked up at this. "You can't be eating all the food like you used to. You have to remember that we only have a limited supply understand," he said. Cara nodded at this. To limit how much she eats seemed like torture, but she would try to control herself. Now that the dispute was resolved they went into a silence.

A sea king came out from the water and roared at them. Jaune who was still hyped up from his hunger fuel rage leaped at the monster and gave it an electrified kick to the face.

"Dendo-Dendo no Cannon Shot!" He shouted. The force of the blow sent the sea king back into the water unconscious. Jaune landed back on the ship. Today was not Jaune's day and he was starting to get annoyed. He would have stayed like that, if he didn't heat the distinct sound of clapping. He turned towards the direction of the noise and saw a bunch of people on a boat across from them clapping.

"Nice job there. You really showed that sea king whose boss," an old man said. He wore a fisherman's jacket. Jaune scanned the people on the boat and saw a lot of men. Some looked to be the same age as him or older. He also caught the sight of a young girl with blue hair who was glaring at them with her purple eyes.

"Who are you guys?" Cara asked. Jaune and Finn nodded at the question, wondering who they were. The unnamed girl seems to have been offended by this. The old man just smiled at them and answered.

"We're just some fisherman out here returning home with what we caught. The sea king must have caught the scent of the fish in our boat and attacked. Usually Maria is the one that deals with the sea kings, but you took it out yourself," the old man explained. The old man introduced the mysterious girl as Maria. She turned her head away from them and walked inside the ship. This seems to have annoyed both Cara and Finn. Jaune just held a face of indifference.

"Do you guys have any food? We haven't eaten in three days," Jaune said bluntly. The old man laughed at that. Finn and Cara didn't say anything, but they were waiting in anticipation for his answer. The old man finally got his laughs in and settled down.

"We do have food, but you will have to help us in exchange for us giving you a meal," he said.

"Deal," all three pirates said simultaneously. The old man was taken back by how fast they replied. They must have been really hungry. "You don't even know what I want you help us with."

"We don't care. We're hungry and we want food," Jaune said. "Now, what do you want?" Jaune said with seriousness in his voice. He is not someone to be messed with when he is hungry.

"We just wanted you to escort us until we reach safer waters. That's all," the old man said. "Maria has been doing all the work and we would like it if she got a break from the fighting. That's all we want."

"Fine," Jaune said.

"Whose making our food?" Cara blurted out.

"That would be Maria. Not only is she a great fighter, but she's an excellent cook as well," the old man said. Jaune, Cara, and Finn jumped over from their ship into the fisherman ship. The fisherman were shocked at them jumping over to their ship.

"What are you doing?" The old man asked. The three pirates turned their heads to look at him.

"We're looking for the cook," they said. After that, they enter the inside of the ship, leaving the fishermen who have a deadpan look on their face.

* * *

-With Maria-

Maria is in the room where all the fish are kept. Right now she was filleting the fish that were caught and tossing the unneeded parts out of an opening back into the water. She was using the fillet knife that she has had for as long as she could remember. She felt calm with the sound of her knife and the ocean making an unusual, harmonious rhythm. This would have continued had someone not burst in and caused a ruckus.

"Excuse me, can you make us something to eat cause we're hungry?!" Cara said. Finn was behind her and pushed her out of the way. Jaune was behind both of them and he wasn't feeling too good. His hunger was getting to him.

"I'm sorry about her, she seems to have lost all of her manners," Finn said with an apologetic smile.

"Didn't you say you're a princess? Didn't they teach you manners?" He whispered.

"I said excuse me didn't I," she said.

Cara and Finn began to banter silently, while Jaune stepped in between them. He walked up to her and got a closer look at her. He looked at her face and saw that her eyes were brown. She had a fisherman's jacket, but she had it tied around her waist. She wore a green short sleeved shirt that went well with her brown shorts. On her feet are brown buckled boot that went up to the start of her calf. Jaune noticed that she knew how to dress, but the thing that drew his attention was the blade she was holding.

"Are you that interested in my knife?" She asked. Jaune didn't think it could even be called a knife. It was more like a short sword.

"Are you sure that's a knife?" Jaune asked.

"Yep," she said. She put it back in its sheath and held up for Jaune to see. "His name is Suigetsu. He's not a legendary sword, but he is special to me." Maria was smiling at the memories that she had with the sword. She remembers when her father first gave it to her. Ever since then, it has never left her side.

"It's beautiful. I can see that you have taken good care of it," Jaune said. Although he doesn't use a sword anymore, he knows what goes into sword care.

"Thanks, I appreciate that…I'm sorry that I was a rude when we met outside, I was just kind of angry that you stole my target."

"Target?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah, I was going to take down that sea king," she said.

"With the knife?" Jaune asked. Maria nodded. He really wanted to see her take down a sea king with a knife. Maria looked over at Cara and Finn who were still arguing, but it became something entirely different from when they first started. She saw the spear that was behind her back.

"What's its name?" Maria said to Cara. This got Cara and Finn out of their argument.

"What?"

"The name of your spear. What is it?" She asked again.

"I…actually don't know." Cara looked embarrassed at this. She just grabbed the weapon from her mansion's armory and never gave it a name. She considered herself a warrior and knew about the importance of naming a weapon. Maria looked at Cara and began to walk past them out the room. Cara felt like she should be offended, but she didn't know why.

"Where are you going?" Jaune asked.

"She said you guys were hungry. I'm making your meals," she said. Cara smiled widely and went to hug her. She put her in a death hug and was crying tears of joy. The hug was painful and Maria was struggling to get out of it.

"Cara, your suffocating her," Jaune said. Cara looked at Maria who she was squeezing and let go of her.

"I'm sorry about that. I just got a little excited about the thought of eating again," Cara said. Maria was now glaring at Cara. Accident or not, she didn't appreciate being choked.

"I'm not cooking anything for you," Maria said. Cara was now in tears shouting no. She, like the others, hasn't eaten in three days and now she ruined her chances of getting any food. This was hell to her. Finn was looking at her in amusement.

"That's what you get for eating all of our food," Finn said. It seems that he still has a grudge over that. Cara forgot her sadness at Finn's comment and attacked with her spear. She would have been successful had Jaune not grabbed her by the back of her turtleneck sweater. She was on her butt and Jaune was dragging her away following Maria to the kitchen.

* * *

-1 hour later-

Jaune finally found use for the meat that they had back on their ship. Maria used some of that meat to make their meal. Jaune somehow convinced Maria to make Cara food. She got her food, but it was small compared to what Jaune and Finn were served. Cara savored every bite she took. All three of them were in love with Maria's cooking from the first bite. That is when Jaune decided.

"Would you join my crew?" he said. Maria raised her eye at that.

"No," Maria said. That was quick.

"Why not?" Cara whined. She really like her food. Jaune and Finn nodded as well wondering why.

"I have other things that I have to do," she said. "That is why I refuse your request."

"Nope," Jaune said.

"hmm?" Maria hummed in confusion.

"Your food is too good. I refuse," Jaune said firmly.

"Well you don't get to decide. Plus, you'll be leaving soon anyway," Maria said.

"Actually, we'll be with you guys for a while. We made a deal with the old man that if you cooked for us, we would escort you guys back to your island," Jaune explained. Maria widened her eyes at this. They didn't need any help. She wasn't tired and they haven't run into a lot of sea kings during this voyage. Why did the old man ask for their help? That is when it hit her.

' _Goddammit Gramps,_ ' Maria thought. She walked out of the eating area and to the deck to have a talk. Jaune, Cara, and Finn went back to finishing the leftover food.

* * *

-Deck of the Fisherman's ship-

Maria was walking past the fisherman on the boat towards the old man. The old man turned his head and saw her. He waved at her happily, but she herself didn't look so happy. The old man saw this and knew what she was mad about.

"Gramps, why do you keep trying to get rid of me?" She said once she was close enough to him. The old man formed a frown on his face. This was not the first time this has happened. Many times, the old man has tried to get Maria off his ship. It wasn't that he hated her, it was because he cared for her.

"You deserve better than being stuck on this ship Maria," he said. She truly does. She was an amazing cook. She shouldn't be limited to this boat, where all she does and fight sea kings and fillet fish. She was capable of so much more.

"You still need my help. You're getting old and soon you will have to retire. I know this ship better than anyone else besides you. I know how to do every job. When you retire, who else will be able to do I can?"

"That is very true. While you are very capable of handling this ship, I still stand by my decision. That is why I have been training someone to take my place. This is not the life that you deserve Maria. Why can't you understand that?" He asked. Maria was done talking to him and stormed off in the opposite direction. The old man looked her sadly and sighed.

"Hopefully, they can take her with them," he said and went back to what he was doing.

* * *

-The Next day-

For the fisherman, the voyage out to sea wasn't eventful and they didn't run into any sea kings. Usually the way back would be the same, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Right now, the two ships are surrounded by four sea kings. Jaune jumped up at one of the sea kings and kicked it in the chin with an upward kick.

Finn got the attention of one sea king, who came rushing at him. Finn stopped the sea king's attack with his fist and delivered a series of punches to its face. Finn is a navigator, not a fighter. Though, these facts are true, he can still hold his own. Finn continued his flurry of punches. He delivered an uppercut to the sea king, which sent it back into the water.

Cara jumped at the other sea king and made a horizontal slash with her spear. The cut was deep, but not deep enough to kill it. She landed back onto the deck. The monster was now angry and roared at her. She readied her spear and waited for it to strike. The sea king lunged at her. Cara turned her body so that her left side was facing it. The shaft of the spear was positioned to sit parallel to her left arm and went behind her back to be perpendicular to her right. She reared back, readying her attack.

"True Spear Strike!" She lunged towards the sea king. The strike stabbed into the face of the monster and stopped its attack in the process. Cara pulled out her spear and saw that it was covered in blood. She looked at the blood with disgust. She was going to have to do some cleaning later. She turned towards the other sea king. She was readied her spear to fight, but was not needed since Maria jumped at the sea king with her fillet knife drawn. She slashed the head of the sea king in one slice.

Cara looked at Maria wondering how she was able to do that. She looked at the bloody spear in her hand. She thought back to her fight with sloth and now this fight with the sea king. She realized that the opponents were only going to get harder at a very fast pace. She had to get stronger faster than they could come. She looked up and saw that Maria was back on the boat cleaning off her knife. She walked over to her. Maria noticed Cara walking towards her.

"What do you want?" Maria asked.

"Teach me how to cut things better," Cara asked.

"Why should I?" Maria asked.

"Where I'm going, there are going to be people that are going to be a lot stronger. I never had anyone to teach me how to fight, so I had to learn by myself. As I am right now, I am not at the level to fight them. You know how to do things that I don't, like how you cut that sea king. If I'm going to have any chance of becoming someone that stands at the top with the strongest, then I will need some guidance," Cara said.

Maria saw how serious she was. She was a person that had ambition and nothing was going to stop her from getting there. She admired that about Cara. Maria didn't really have any goals. All she wanted to do is repay the old man for his kindness by taking over his job and giving him a comfortable retired life.

' _I don't really have any dream do I?'_ Maria thought sadly. Maria looked at Cara and saw the same determined look on her face.

"Fine," Maria said.

"Really!?" Cara said. She didn't think that she would agree.

"Yeah, I will teach you what I can. Although I don't know how much help I can be since it's just something that I know,"

"Don't worry about that. I'll have you know that I am a fast learner," Cara said. She wouldn't have been able to learn all the things she did by just watching if she wasn't a fast learner.

"We'll start later today. You better be ready," Maris said. Cara nodded. "And one more thing," she said.

"Yes?" Cara asked.

"Why is it that you decided to follow him?" Maria pointed at Jaune who was talking to Finn. Cara understood her question and answered.

"I follow him because he was the one that offered me a chance to chase my dreams. He is also someone that I know that I can put my faith into. He just has something about him that lets you know everything will be fine," Cara said.

"Well, I'll see you later," she said. She walked off leaving Maria to her own thoughts.

* * *

-Second Day-

It seems what Cara said yesterday was true. She really is a fast learner. All it took was one lesson from Maria and she was able to easily cut through the sea kings. All she really did was show her a simple demonstration and Cara took it from there. This time a lot more popped up. These waters were known to be heavily inhabited with them.

This went on for a good while. Jaune's body was coursing with electricity and jumped from one sea king to the other delivering powerful electrified kicks. Finn was moving quickly avoiding bites and delivering strong punches. The old man saw Jaune utilizing the power of his devil fruit and looked at him in awe. All in all, this was good experience and training for the crew.

* * *

-30 minutes later-

Cara and Jaune were fine due to their stamina, but Finn was not used to exerting himself so much and had to sit down and rest. The boat were on course. Jaune was outside on the deck enjoying the breeze. The old man came outside from his ship and looked across to see Jaune.

"Hey kid!" The old man called over. Jaune looked over at the man. Jaune turned his head towards the old man.

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to talk,"

Jaune didn't have any problem with that. He got up and jumped over to the ship.

"I'm sorry but, I never asked for your name," Jaune said.

"You don't need to know," the old man said. This made Jaune curious, but he can see that he probably won't get an answer out of him. They reached his private quarters. It was a pretty comfortable.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Jaune asked.

"Have you ever heard of the Leviathan?" The old man asked. His voice was unusually serious.

"Sorry, but I've never heard that," Jaune said.

"Don't be sorry, I kind of expected that answer. When I was a boy, my mother would tell me stories. Stories about the sea devils and when they roamed free. Though, a lot of these stories were lost to time because of the World Government and their censorship."

Jaune heard about this somewhat from Mana. He remembers her telling him that they will outright kill people who were known to have any knowledge whatsoever about the void period. This old man may be one of the few people left in this world with any kind of knowledge about that time.

"Why are you telling me about the Leviathan?" Jaune asked.

"Because every time I see you fight using your devil fruit powers, you remind me of the stories about this fearsome beast," the old man answered. This caused Jaune to widen his eyes in surprise. He wanted to know more about this creature. Plus, this is probably one of the only chances that he would ever have to hear about a period lost to time and censorship.

"Could you tell me more?" Jaune asked.

This made the old man happy. It has been a long time since he has told stories like these. "I would love to."

"The Leviathan was a sea devil that was infamous for its electrical abilities. It was said that people were both in awe and fear it. No one was able to stand up against it. There seemed to have been no limit to its electricity. It was said to even be able to call lighting down from the sky…" The old man told Jaune about the tale of this legendary beast. Jaune was enraptured and listened.

The old man talked for a long time, but Jaune didn't care. By the time that they were done, it was dark out. The old man seemed to have gotten carried away and told Jaune other stories and tales as well.

"It seems that I got a little bit carried away," the old man said.

"That's okay, it was interesting to hear this," Jaune said. He got up from his chair and began to walk out.

"Before you go, I have something that I need to tell you," the old man said. Jaune stopped and turned around.

"It's about Maria. I want you to take her with you. I know that she doesn't want to leave here, but she deserves better than this," the old man said.

* * *

-With Maria-

Maria was done for today and planned on heading to see the old man before she went to bed. She reached his door and was about to knock until she heard the conversation he was having.

"I asked her to join my crew and she said that she had things to do," Jaune said. The old man held the bridge of nose.

"She says that she owes a lot for what I done for her, but she doesn't owe me anything. I care for Maria like she was my own. All I want is for her to be happy. I know she won't be happy if she stays here." Maria tilted her head down, which shadowed her eyes. She walked away from the door and up to the deck. What she didn't notice was that the door opened and somebody was following her.

* * *

-With Jaune-

When Jaune opened the door, he saw Maria walking up the stairs. He decided to follow her up to the deck. He walked up to the deck and saw her sitting on the bulwark of the ship. He walked over to her and sat down putting his back to the bulwark. He didn't feel like accidentally falling overboard.

"I heard what you guys were talking about," Maria started.

"How much?" Jaune asked.

"The part where gramps said I don't owe him anything,"

"Hmmm,"

There was an uncomfortable silence between the two, Jaune decided to do something about it. Things wouldn't get better if they didn't talk about it. It would just be awkward.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jaune asked.

"Hm?" Maria hummed out.

"Talking it out is usually a good way to do things. I know that it's helped me a lot," Jaune said. Maria thought about whether she should tell him or not. What did she have left to lose?

"I guess I'll start when I first met gramps," she said. "I don't remember much from when I met him, but from what he told me. He said that he and the other fisherman were coming back from a voyage. There was a storm and the seas were brutal. They were sailing through when they heard a sharp shriek. They looked around and they saw me on a rock holding on for dear life. Gramps got a rope and tethered himself to the ship and swam over to me. He grabbed me and were getting pulled back. Us getting pulled back was almost like hell. The waves thrashed us around. One wave knocked us back into the rock. Gramps took the hit for me and slammed hard into the rock. We finally got pulled back into the ship. I was really young then, so I don't really remember much."

Maria paused. Jaune didn't say anything and just listened intently. He was going to be patient with her. This must have been a painful memory for her.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Jaune said. Maria just shook her head.

"I want to…The way back was rough but we made it. What I didn't know until we reached land was that Gramps broke his leg and shoulder from when he got slammed into that rock. He got medical help, but due to his age there was not much that could be done. Both his shoulder and leg were permanently damaged. He wasn't able to do any physical work. It was my fault that he got injured. Even though that was the case, he took me in and raised me. He was the one that gave me Suigestu. He did so much for me. That is why I have to repay him for all he's done."

Maria told Jaune pretty much everything. Hopefully he would understand her situation and give up on her joining him.

"He loves you," Jaune said.

"What?" Maria asked.

"He loves you like any parent would," Jaune clarified. "The old man saw you as his child. He took care of you because he loves you. A parent's job is to make sure that their child grows up loved and cared for. He did all of these things not because he wanted you to repay him, he wanted to give you the opportunity to follow your dreams," Jaune said.

"What if I don't really have any dreams?" Maria said. Her face took on a melancholic expression. She was lost and didn't know what she wanted to do.

"Then you go out and look for one," Jaune said. "I was the same as you. I didn't really have any idea of what I truly wanted to do, until someone gave me a purpose. I now carry their dream along with my own to find meaning in my life. Now that I know what I want to do, I'm not going to let anything stand in my way of achieving my dream."

Maria understood what Cara said yesterday. He did have this characteristic about him that made her feel like that he could do it and much more. She still didn't know what she wanted to do, but she felt that she would find it if she went with him. She needed time to herself. Maria stood up and walked away to her room. Jaune got up and went back to his ship.

* * *

-Tomorrow-

They were now in safer waters. The chances of a sea king appearing were second to none now. Right now Cara is training and at the same time thinking of potential names for her spear. Finn was finding where they were and mapping out where they needed to go to get to the Grandline. Jaune was leaning against the wall of his ship thinking about yesterday and what the old man said. It was almost time for them to leave.

Maria was sitting down in her room. There was not to do because all the work she needed to do she finished. She was thinking that the events that transpired last night. In her hands was Suigestu in his sheath. At the moment she didn't know what to do. She was so out of it that she almost didn't notice her door opening. She looked up and saw that it was the old man.

"What do you want Gramps?" Maria asked.

"Usually you are up on deck doing something," the old man said.

"I was just thinking about things."

"What things?"

It seems that he is not going to leave her alone "…I was talking to Jaune last night."

The old man knew where this was going.

"I know you have said that I don't owe you anything. Jaune said I don't owe you. But you are the reason that I'm alive in the first place. You permanently damaged your shoulder and leg to save me. I need to repay for you. That's why I can't leave. Why can't you understand that?" She said.

"What if the way that I wanted you to repay me was to live your life how you wanted?" He finally said. "When I first met you, I saw a child that was scared and needed guidance. I decided that I would be the person to do that. Over time, I began to love you as if you were my child. I wanted you to go out and follow your dreams, not be stuck here on this ship due to some obligation." The old man gave her a love filled smile. Maria was stunned to hear the old man say this. Although Jaune did explain this to her, it always meant more to hear it from the person in question.

"I don't have any dreams that I know of. But I know will find it if I go with Jaune," Maria said.

"Then you know your answer. You better start packing," the old man said.

Maria nodded and got up and gathered the stuff that she needed. Her clothes were gathered up in a wrapped up blanket, while her cooking tools were placed in a special packing case that she got a while back. She grabbed her stuff and ran up to the deck. She saw that they were still there.

"Hey Jaune!" Maria yelled out. Jaune was still leaning against the wall. Cara who was also on deck training stopped to see what was going on. They saw that she had stuffed wrapped up and in cases. They had a guess as to what that meant and their excitement rose.

"Yeah?" Jaune asked.

"I don't have a dream or ambition that I know of right now. But…I feel like I will find out what it is if I go with you. So what I'm asking is…" Maria said but she was interrupted.

"Yes!" Jaune and Cara said simultaneously. Maria blinked owlishly. She didn't expect for them to agree that fast. Jaune stood up and smiled at her.

"What are you waiting for? You're joining right? Get over here," Jaune said. Maria jumped over to their ship gracefully with her stuff. Jaune told her where the kitchen was and where she could put her clothes. Maria walked into the ship. Once she walked in, Jaune and Cara started doing a happy dance. They got a cook and one that could make really good food.

-With Finn-

Finn was still at work, marking out his sea chart. He heard the opening of a door that broke his concentration. He looked out to see that it was Maria. She was hold a lot of things. Finn did a silent fist pump and walked over to her.

"Hey Maria, I see that you decided to come along," Finn said. Maria turned her head to Finn.

"Yep, I didn't really think that I would be doing this either, but I can say that I'm really not against it. I'm kinda looking forward to it," She said.

"Well, if you ever need any help with anything, we're all willing to help. Now I need to get back to marking out a safe route to The Grandline," Finn said. He turned around and began walking back to the navigator's room.

"Finn could I ask you something before you go?" Maria asked. Finn stopped and turned around.

"Of course," he said.

"Why did you come onto this ship? Why join Jaune?" She asked.

"I joined because like me, he had a crazy dream. I told him that I was searching for Vanaheimr, a place that was said to be the land of my people. Although it is a place that people now believe doesn't exist because no one has found it for over 200 years. I told him all of this and he still accepted me joining. He was the first person to give me the opportunity of following my dreams. I now feel like I have a chance." Maria was shocked. This was similar to what Cara said. Maria felt like she would like it on this ship.

"If that's all, I'll be going now," He said. He walked back into the room and closed the door behind him. Maria went to go unpack her stuff.

-1 hour later-

Maria was done with unpacking and setting up what they were going to eat. She walked up to the deck to see that they were still with the fisherman ship. She saw Jaune outside leaning against the bulwark.

"I thought we were going to set sail?" Maria asked.

"We are actually about to do that right now," Jaune said. He turned his head to Finn who was at the helm and began to turn the ship. The ship started turning away from the fisherman ship in the direction of the East Blue. Maria watched as they were going away from the ship she spent most of her life on. She saw that the fisherman and the old man on the boat gathered up on the deck and faced her.

"MARIAAAAA!" They all shouted. This surprised the girl in question.

"I BELIEVE IN YOU!" The old man yelled.

"YOU CAN DO IT!" Another yelled.

"DON'T FORGET ABOUT US!" One after another, everyone was yelling words of encouragement. Maria's eyes began to tear up until she started crying.

"THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR ME! I PROMISE I WON'T LET YOU DOWN!" She yelled back. She waved at them until they were nothing but a dot. Maria wiped her and sniffed to keep the snot from running out of her nose.

"You gonna be okay?" Jaune asked. Cara and Finn were wondering the same thing. Maria turned to them and nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she said.

* * *

And that is the end of the chapter. Jaune and the crew finally have a cook now. Again, I am sorry for the delay. I will try to get back on the regular schedule, but I doubt that will happen. I may just stick with this schedule from now on since it actually works better for me. Finn's character profile is up on my profile if you want to look. I am putting up a poll of what the name of Cara's spear should be. If you have any question, PM and I will try to answer as fast as I can.

See you in the next chapter.


	10. The Markmen and the Frog

Hello

This is my longest chapter by far. Over 11,000 words. Sorry it took so long for me to post.

I just wanna say thank you to the people that read this story. This was just a story that was in my head that I wanted to share with people in hopes that they would want to write something about this. This is my first time seriously writing, so I'm learning, but there are still people reading this. Thank you.

Also, Jaune's move arsenal will be expanding. He will be using a couple of breakdance moves. The only two moves that I liked was the flares and the windmills.

Now that, that is out of the way, enjoy the story.

* * *

-In the East Blue-

The crew has finally made to the East Blue, getting closer to the destination where they will be able to enter the Grandline. It has been a while since the crew has been together now. Right now, the captain, Jaune Arc, seems to have come up with a name for their crew.

"So guys, what do you think?" Jaune asked. He really felt like this was an awesome name. Unfortunately, Jaune seemed to always have differing opinions when it came to a lot of things.

"It sounds lame," Maria said. Jaune was struck, he really thought that this was a cool name. It seems that Maria was not the only person that thought this.

"I'll have to agree, The Leviathan Pirates doesn't really roll off the tongue well," Finn said. Jaune felt betrayal. Finn was the only guy on the ship, who he could have guy conversations with at the moment.

"Why don't we name it the Arc Pirates?" Cara asked.

"That sounds cooler, and plus it has your name in it Jaune," Maria said. Finn nodded at that. It was short, sweet, and rolled off the tongue. Did the ladies love it? Maria and Cara didn't seem to be against it. Even though his crew liked the name, Jaune was conflicted about it. He thought about it, but knew that it would put a lot of attention on his family.

First, the only son sneaks into a prestigious school of hunters and now he is a criminal? What kind of children are the Arc family raising? Those were the thoughts he was having. After a couple minutes of thinking, Jaune sighed in resignation.

' _Fuck it,_ ' he thought. Why the hell was he being so cautious? This was his chance to live a life of no regrets. This was his life, not theirs. Jaune brought himself out of his thoughts and smiled contently.

"The Arc Pirates it is," he said. Cara, Maria, and Finn sighed in relief.

"We thought you were going to be stubborn and just choose that lame name," Finn said. Jaune didn't know how to feel about that. That is something he would have done. He is stubborn enough to do it. They were beginning to know how he works, just like he does them. He sighed and decided to let it go.

"Well then! Let's drink to celebrate the naming of our crew!" Jaune shouted. The rest were in agreement. Everyone began to walk in to the ship to eat and drink. Jaune was the last one to go inside, he took a look at the outside of the ship before he began to walk inside like the rest.

Being on this ship really has brought them together. Memories have already been made. Like a month ago when Cara decided to raid the food supply because she wanted a midnight snack. It was funny seeing an irate Maria chasing Cara with a stuffed face in the middle of the night. Even though they fight about the food, they have become good friends. Jaune was happy that he had found people like them. He sometimes felt like these were all fated meetings. Like some force was helping him. What it is, he doesn't know.

This could be thought about later, now was the time to be celebrating with everyone else.

* * *

-30 minutes later-

They fucked up.

They were already running short on food and now they had nothing. They all were holding their heads in realization of this fact.

They were going to have to stock up at the nearest island. But they didn't have any money. While they are pirates, they didn't like the idea of stealing from those that didn't deserve it. Hopefully, the people at the next island were kind enough to lend them some food. Finn has already set a course for Napolis. That's a weird name for a town.

Thankfully, the island wasn't that far, so it would only take half a day to get there.

* * *

-Napolis-

It was a busy town and the people were going about their daily business, until the sound of hooves hitting the ground was heard. The sound caused the people to freeze up in fear and tension. They looked and saw a horse drawn carriage moving through the streets. It was him. They moved of the way to make way for the carriage and bowed not daring to look up. Some people close to their homes, ran inside and closed the windows and curtains as to not be seen.

The carriage kept moving until it stopped in front a small shop that read: Gelma's gun shop. Hand-made and the best in all the seas. The driver got down and went to the door to open it for whoever it was. The first thing that could be seen was skinny legs. The next thing that came into view was a round and fat body with thin arms. The face could finally be seen. It had a round triangular shape to it. His cheeks were chubby and his teeth were always showing giving him a permanent creepy smile. He had a mustache that extended for two feet. He was wearing a finely tailored black suit to finish off his look.

He walked to the shop and stopped at the door waiting for the driver to open it for him. The driver hurried over and opened it for him to walk in. A bell rang due to the opening of the door. The store was well lit and had a welcoming atmosphere to it. He panned around to look for the shop owner.

"One moment," a gruff voice called out. This did not make the mysterious person happy. He growled in displeasure and tapped his foot in impatience. The shopkeeper finally walked to the main area and was shocked to see who it was. The man was bald and had a greying beard. He was well built due to the physical demand of his job.

"Lord Napo, I-I didn't know it was you. If I knew, I would have come faster," the man said.

"Hmph," the man now named Napo started. His voice was both nasally and grating. "No matter, let's get to business. You know why I'm here Gelma."

Unknown to Gelma and Napo, there was someone that was watching through another door that was slightly cracked open.

"Ah, yes, yes, just one moment while I get it," Gelma said. He quickly stepped out to grab whatever it was. He came back very quickly with a beautifully made rifle. It was on top of a cloth as to not let Napo touch the gun since Gelma knew how much he didn't like touching things that had contact with "plebians".

"This is just a prototype," Gelma said.

Napo took the gun off the cloth and looked at the rifle up and down. Once he was done with his observation, he put the gun back on the cloth.

"I like it," Napo finally said. Gelma let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding. "I want to have enough for my men next month."

This caused Gelma to flinch. He couldn't make that many in that window of time. The person watching from behind the doors had a reaction to Napo's words, but it neither Napo or Gelma noticed. Gelma started shaking. He started sweating because of the answer he would have to give.

"I can't make that many in that amount of time. I would only be able to make a third of the amount you need. I could get it done in a little over two months if I work fast enough," Gelma said shakily. Napa mouth turned into a frown with his teeth still showing. He lifted his right hand up as if holding something on top of his hand.

"Bring it to me," he said. The driver who was standing at the door of the shop, ran out to the carriage. He quickly came back with a giant iron club. The driver who seemed to have trouble carrying the club put it into Napo's hand. Napo held the club in his hand as if it weighed nothing. He moved toward Gelma at speeds that a man as big as him shouldn't be able to reach. The club connected and Gelma went down to his knees clutching his stomach.

"A month should be enough right," Napo said. Gelma was still holding his stomach in pain. "Right," Napo said louder.

"Yes," Gelma wheezed out.

"Good."

Napo looked around the shop until his eyes locked onto a piece behind the counter that he has never seen before. It was a pistol, but the craftsmanship was nothing like he had ever seen. The barrel had an intricate beautiful pattern etched into it. The wood of the gun was also decorated. It was an amazing gun. It looked magical almost.

"Since you were, so rude as to ask for more time when I gave you enough, I'll be taking that pistol that you have hanging up there as compensation."

Gelma eyes widened at that. The person seemed to have had enough at that point and burst through the door he was hiding behind.

"You can't have it!" A male voice shouted. The voice belonged to a young man who looked to be around eighteen. He was tall and had black hair that was mid-neck length. His coal black eyes stared at Napo in anger.

"Flint, I told you not to come out," Gelma said sternly. He was still on the ground holding his abdomen. Napo was not pleased at what Flint had just said.

"What did you just say?" There was a dangerous edge to Napo's voice. Flint gulped.

"I said you can't have it. It's not for you to take," his voice began to shake. Napo walked over to Flint with his club ready to smash. Gelma got up and stood between Flint and Napo with his arms spread out.

"Lord Napo wait," Gelma said. Napo stopped his approach. "This boy, he is my apprentice and has been with me for almost a decade now. He is still young and needs to learn, but right now he is my responsibility."

"What are you asking?" Napa said. He was angry at the kid for the audacity to talk to him like that.

"I am asking if you would could be so kind as to let me take the punishment in his place," he said. Flint was shocked to hear the Gelma say this.

"Master I-" Flint started.

"No! You have done enough!" Gelma shouted. Gelma then got on his hands and knees, and bowed his head to the ground. "Please Lord Napo, I ask this of you." Napo grinned.

"Ribibibibibibi," he laughed. "I will accept."

Napo swung his club and hit Gelma and his midsection, but Napo didn't stop there. He repeatedly hit Gelma with his club. It wasn't enough to break any bones or cause him to not be able to do his job, but it still painful. All the while, Flint clenched his fist until his knuckles were white.

The whole time Napo cackled loudly. "Ribibibibibibi! Ribibibibibibi! Ribibibibibibi!"

' _Why couldn't I keep my mouth shut?_ ' he thought. All of this wouldn't have happened if he just let Napo do what he wanted. He could do something. But all it would do make things worse. All he could do was watch as his master was beaten.

Napo finally stopped. Gelma was unconscious. Blood was coming from his mouth, but besides that he was just in pain all over. Flint went to sit him up, but was stopped by Napo's driver.

"Take him to the palace with us. I want to make sure he will get his work done with no distractions," Napo said. The driver picked up Gelma and took him to the carriage and opened the door to put him in.

"I said on the carriage, not inside with me," Napo said. The driver froze and backed away from the carriage door. He decided to put Gelma next him at the driver's seat. He went to the door of the carriage and waited for Napo to return. Napo still had something that he wanted.

"Boy, hand me that gun," Napo ordered. Flint was silent. His hair shadowed his eyes. He walked behind the counter and went to grab the gun.

"Don't grab it with your filthy hands, use a cloth. I thought you were Gelma's apprentice. This is very sloppy on his part."

Flint grit his teeth, but he did what was ordered of him anyway. He went to a clean cloth from the back. He came back with a clean cloth and grabbed the gun. He went over to Napo and presented the gun to him. Napo snatched the gun and walked out of the shop, leaving Flint alone in the shop. Once they were out of sight, Flint closed the door and cried.

* * *

-With Jaune and Crew-

Everyone was doing their own thing at the moment. Cara was training by using things on the boats that were heavy since they didn't have traditional weights; Maria was reading up on some recipes from a book that she hasn't read in a while; Finn was practicing his form by doing some shadow boxing; Jaune was just sitting down watching Finn shadow boxing. Jaune looked over and saw that the island was in sight.

"Hey I can see the island. We should get ready to dock," Jaune said. This got the attention of Finn. He stopped his exercise and went up to the helm and to steer the ship in the right direction to safely dock.

They safely docked on the island and looked to see what the town was like. There was a lot of people outside, but there was barely any sound coming from them. Only the footsteps of the people could be heard.

' _What's going on?_ ' The crew thought. They walked down from the ship and walked into the silent city.

They walked through and saw the expressions on the faces of the citizens. They all seemed to have a somber expression on their faces. It was then Finn decided to ask.

"Excuse me sir. Would you mind telling us what happened here?" The man looked at Finn.

"It seems you are not from here," the man said. "A few years ago, the previous duke passed away and his son was the next in line. Unfortunately, his son, Napo, is not a person that makes a good leader. He takes what he wants, he does what he wants, and no one can stop him."

This didn't sit right with Jaune or the others.

"Our local gunsmith Gelma was taken this morning by Napo and his men. His apprentice is still in the shop. What happened really hit him hard. If I were you, I would get out of here as fast as I can," the man said. After that, he started walking back in the direction he was headed.

"Let's go find this apprentice," Jaune said. The others didn't really have anywhere else to go, so they decided to follow.

-10 minutes later-

The man didn't tell them where to go, so it took them a while to find the shop. They stood in front of it, until Finn decided to walk in. The bell rang from the door opening.

"We're closed," someone said. They looked around and they saw a young man sitting on the ground against the wall of the counter. Jaune looked into his eyes and saw that they held sadness and guilt. He wasn't going to let this kids stay like this.

"We heard what happened," Jaune started. Silence was the only reply. "What's your name?"

"Flint. Flint Locke," it was quietly said but, he finally said something. They all wondered why someone would take advantage of their family name and name their child after a gun.

"Why are you here?" Flint asked. Maria decided to be the one to answer his question.

"Cause we want to help," she said. Flint growled. He looked up at Maria and glared at her with every ounce of anger in him. The area around his eyes was red and puffy. he was crying.

"And what good is that going to do?!" He yelled. "You can't stop him and even if you did, he will come back and make our lives even more of a living hell!"

Jaune was someone that has been bullied. He knew what it was like and the effect that it had on people and their self-esteem. He never was really good at handling them, but things would be different this time.

"Once we deal with him, he won't be a problem anymore," Jaune said. Flint turned his attention to Jaune and glared at him.

"Do you guys work with the Marines or something?" Flint asked. He didn't see them wearing any uniforms. Jaune chuckled at this. Maybe a few years ago, he would have never imagined doing something like this.

"Nope. We're pirates," Jaune said. Flint widened his eyes at the answer he was given. Weren't pirates supposed to be criminals and do bad things.

"You guys don't seem like pirates," Flint said.

"You don't have to be evil to be a pirates. Pirates live a life of freedom and danger. You don't answer to no one except yourself," Jaune said.

"Okay, then how are you going to stop Napo? You're new to this island, but Napo has two elite guards who have never been beaten. Napo is not someone you can't play around with. He is stronger than both of his guards. Not only that, he also has many other men at his beck and ca-" Flint said, but saw that their attention wasn't on him anymore.

"Finn, he rich so must have a lot of money, so take as much as you can and once you are done we'll help with the rest," Jaune said. Finn nodded. He was a navigator, so fighting was not much of a thing that he did.

"Maria, Cara, you guys take on the guards and I will be taking on Napo," Jaune said. Maria nodded, but Cara was not happy about this setup.

"Why do you get to take him on? I want to fight him," Cara said.

"I'm the captain. That's why," was Jaune's answer. Flint looked at them deadpan. They just ignored his warnings and were making battle plans.

"Don't ignore me!" Flint shouted. They turned their heads towards Flint. "Did you not hear a thing that I said about Napo and his men?!"

"We heard what you said. We just don't care. Sometimes people can't take on the problems that they are having and so they need someone to lean on when things become too much. Napo is a bully and I'm gonna help you guys by kicking his ass."

Flint was surprised at what Jaune said. For the first time in a while, he felt like he had some hope.

"You don't understand. It was my fault for what happened. If I didn't try stop him from taking what he wanted my master wouldn't have been beaten, he wouldn't have taken him away and forced him to work nonstop," Flint said. Flint was crying again.

"That may be the case," Jaune said. Flint flinched at that. "But you stood up to him. And from what I can see, not a lot of people are brave enough to do that."

"Now that we have a plan, let's head out," Jaune said. They began to walk towards the door. Flint watched them leave. He was again left alone in the shop. He thought back to times when he was just a kid.

* * *

-Flashback-

 _A child about five years old was hiding in his room at the orphanage. He was found out to have devil fruit powers and now the kids at the orphanage were calling him a freak. He didn't know he ate a devil fruit, he was just playing around in the forest one day, saw it and ate it. He didn't want to come out, he e just wanted to stay in here for the rest of his life. He heard footsteps coming towards his room. He tucked himself into even tighter of a ball. The door creaked opened to reveal._

" _So you're the Flint that everyone was talking about?" It was Gelma. Flint didn't say anything._

" _My name is Gelma, I'm the local gunsmith around here," he said. Still no answer. It seems like he was just going to have to dive in if he wanted an answer._

" _Can you show me your devil fruit?" He asked._

" _What, so you can the freak that I am?" Flint asked. That got answer out of him._

" _You're not a freak."_

" _How do you know that?"_

" _Cause there are so many people out there who have also eaten devil fruits and can do amazing things with them. I believe that you are capable of doing great things. I just want to see that potential." Flint froze. The guy didn't see him as a freak of nature. He believed that he was someone capable of great things._

 _Flint slowly brought out his hand and used his power. In the middle of his palm, a gun barrel formed. Gelma's slowly went for Flint's palm and looked at the barrel._

" _You either have the gun-gun fruit or the arms-arms fruit," Gelma said. That was all he said. He didn't call him a monster or anything like he expected Gelma to do. Gelma smiled at Flint. The smile was almost blinding to him._

" _I came here today, wondering if you wanted to come with me to become my apprentice. The art of gunsmithing is one that I enjoy. I feel that this it would be a good practice that you can direct your energy toward instead of being in here moping around," Gelma said. Gelma extended his hand toward him._

" _So what do you say? The choice is up to you," he said._

* * *

-Flashback End-

That was the day he met him. It was a day that he was accepted by someone after he had eaten that fruit. He then thought back to the day when Gelma helped him realize his dream. He remembers it like it only happened yesterday.

* * *

-Flashback-

" _Hey Flint, have you ever thought about going out to sea?" Gelma asked. Today was a leisure day for both of them. They were at the docks and just looking out at the sea. Flint turned to him._

" _No," Flint answered._

" _What? That's lame," Gelma said._

" _Hey!"_

" _You should want to go out to sea. It's a grand and beautiful world out there with so many wondrous places and people. I don't think it's even possible to see all of it in one lifetime."_

" _You've been out there?"_

" _Yep. I remember those days. I am fortunate to have so many good memories made when I was out there,"_

" _Tell me about them?!" Flint excited to hear about Gelma's adventure._

" _Nope," Gelma said. Flint's jaw dropped at the answer._

" _Why not?!"_

" _Because what reason will you have to go out there, if I just tell you all about it?"_

" _Huh?"_

" _I want you to go out there yourself and see it all. It doesn't have to be now. When you come back, then we can exchange stories at the table with a few drinks like real men,"Gelma said. This seemed to have gotten a rise out of Flint. He stood up with a face of determination._

" _I'm gonna go out to sea and come back with even better stories than you. You got that?" Flint said. Gelma smiled and just laughed._

" _I'm serious!"_

" _I know you are…Hey Flint, if you want to have better stories than me, how about I give you a leg up?" Gelma said. Flint was confused by this._

" _How are you supposed to give me a leg up?"_

 _Gelma saw the confusion in his eyes. He stood up and motioned for Flint to follow him. They began the walk back home to where Gelma would show him what he meant. Once they made it back, Gelma told Flint to wait down in the main area of the shop. Gelma went to the back and came back very quickly with a pistol. It was beautiful. Flint has never seen anything like it._

" _Did you make this?" Flint asked. Gelma laughed._

" _Sadly no. I could never make anything as beautiful as this. But this gun is the leg up that I was telling you about. This gun is a mystery to me. It's made of metal I have never seen or heard of, with markings in a language that I have never seen. I spent a decade trying to find anything about it, but never did. I feel that you are able to finish what I never could."_

 _Gelma looked at the gun with a sad smile. The one thing that even he couldn't figure out. "I also feel that this gun will guide you on an adventure of a lifetime. It's just a hunch though," Gelma hand the gun to Flint. Flint to it from his hand and marveled the gun._

* * *

-Flashback end-

' _Why the hell am I acting so weak?'_ He thought. Where was his spunky attitude that he always had? How was he going to do anything acting the way he was right now? He got up from his seat and ran outside. He saw Jaune and the crew in the distance, walking towards Napo's palace. He ran to catch up with them.

"Hey!" Flint called out to them. It seems that they were within earshot because they stopped and turned around to see him. They stopped and waited for him.

"I want to help you guys," he said once he finally reached them.

"Sure," Jaune said.

' _That was quick,_ ' everyone besides Jaune thought.

"You want to look for Gelma right?" Jaune asked. Flint nodded. "Finn is the only one that won't be doing much fighting, so you can go with him to look around. If you do run into trouble, just know that Finn is no pushover."

"You don't have to worry about me, I can handle myself," Flint said. He raised his hands and gun barrels rose from his palms. Everyone was surprised at that, but Jaune marveled at it.

"So cool," Jaune whispered with amazement. They all didn't seem to be shocked or appalled like the people in town. He was really starting to like these guys. The gun barrels went back into his hands. They walked towards the palace.

' _How much money did that take to make?'_ Jaune thought. If Jaune knew the amount that went into making this, his jaw would probably drop.

* * *

-Napo's Palace-

Napo was sitting in his study gorging himself on meal. When one of his elite guards walked in. He stopped eating and wiped his mouth with the napkin. He was neatly dressed in a red suit and black pants. His black hair was slicked by the gel.

The guard bowed deeply and waited for confirmation to speak.

"What do you want Escargo?" Napo asked.

"Lord Napo, it seems that we have confirmation that there are strangers approaching the property," Escargo said.

"Well send the guards to dispose of them. I don't see why you had to bother me with such nonsense. Now leave me, so I can finish eating," Napo said. The guard bowed deeply and quietly left the room shutting the door behind him.

There are accessible den-den mushi's in each hallway. Escargo walked to the nearest and contacted the guards that were on standby.

"It seems that there are some pest outside that need to be exterminated," Escargo said.

* * *

-With Jaune and crew-

They were nearing the palace. It is actually a lot bigger than they all thought. As they kept walking they heard the sound of many footsteps coming their way. They stopped in their tracks and saw many armed men coming towards them. When Cara saw this, she smirked.

"Let me handle this," she said. There has been something that she has been practicing that she has wanted to try. She stepped up ahead of the rest and drew her spear from her back, and put both hands on the shaft. She went into her stance and put the spear behind almost as if she was swinging a bat. Once the guards were close enough she swung.

"Jet Stream!"

A powerful burst of air came hurtling at the guards and swept them all off of their feet and into air backwards. They landed their back unconscious due to the power of the wind produced by Cara. Cara did a fist pump at the success of her newly created attack. Jaune was impressed. Since the time she has been with him, she has been improving.

The rest of the way, they decided to sprint to the palace. Their presence was noticed and there are probably more guards coming soon.

-Napo's Palace-

Escargo was walking the down the halls of palace by himself until someone walked up to him and began walking at the same pace as him. The person looked almost identical to Escargo. The only way to tell them apart was that the other man's suit was blue instead of red.

"Where were you?" Escargo asked.

"I saw what happened outside, so I contacted the Marines. Lord Napo is someone that aids them greatly, so they shouldn't take long to get here," he said.

"Good. They are approaching get ready for their arrival."

"Hm."

* * *

-With Jaune and Crew-

They could see the entrance to the palace, it was a giant metal door. Jaune dashed ahead of the group and ran towards the palace. While he can make a reasonable dent on the door, it wasn't enough to break through it completely. He decided to aim at the walls of the palace and get in from there. He jumped up high in the air and positioned his leg. He kicked the wall and it was

Cara, Maria, and Finn looked at Jaune with astonishment. Although they have been with him for a while now, they still didn't know how strong he was exactly. Flint gaped at Jaune's strength. How can someone be that strong? There are other people like him out also.

Jaune landed on the ground and waited for the rest to catch up. It was hard to see what was ahead due the dust from the wall going everywhere. Once the dust settled, they saw the guards at the door shaking uncontrollably. Jaune just gave them an intimidating look and they all ran away.

"Okay, this is where we will split up. Finn, Flint, like I said, you guys will be going around looking for Gelma and any valuables. Maria and Cara, you guys are with me. Wherever Napo is, surely his guards will be close by." Everyone nodded. Finn and Flint went down a hallway, while Cara, Maria and Jaune went to find Napo.

* * *

-With Finn and Flint-

The duo is running down their chosen hallway. As they made a turn around a corner, they saw guards running towards them. Finn brought up his fist, while Flint made barrels appear from his hand. Finn rushed them and did a flurry of punches consecutively knocking out the guards, while Flint disarmed the other guards by shooting the weapons out of their hands. Finn knocked the disarmed guards and when he was done looked at Flint.

"You have really good aim," Finn commented. Flint smirked. If there is one thing that he can be proud of, it's his gun making skills and his shooting.

"Thanks, Gelma always told me I was a natural," Flint said.

"Well let's not waste any more time, we need to search this floor."

They went off again on their search. They searched the whole first floor, rooms and all, and didn't find much. They did find some valuable items that Finn and Flint took, but that was it. They went to find stairs to continue their search on the second floor.

They looked around the second floor and didn't see much, until they came across a giant vault door. It was ridiculously big. They didn't really know how they were going to open it, so they were decided to go and look for Gelma. Along the way, maybe they will find the combination to open it.

They ran off to look for the stairs to the next floor. Hopefully they would find Gelma.

* * *

-With Jaune and the Girls-

The trio are now on the third floor and they seem to be getting closer. It seems that Napo is a very vain person because a lot of the more expensive looking objects are becoming more abundant the closer they get.

They continue running through the hallway until they see someone in middle of the hallway. In his hands, was a double sided spear. He stood ready to fight. It was Escargo.

"Cara!" Jaune called out. Cara was already one step ahead of them. She rushed towards the man with the spear, with her own raised and ready to attack. She jumped midway and the spear down for a mighty slash. It was block by man using the shaft of his spear. The clash produced a gust of wind. Cara smiled. This was going to be fun for her.

The two were now in a power struggle. Neither side willing to give in. During the power struggle, Jaune and Maria ran past them down the hallway. The man saw this and turned his attention away from Cara to them. Cara saw what he was trying to do and went to get around with her spear. The man saw this and turned with Cara. Cara's back was now to Jaune and Maria.

"Your fight is with me," Cara said.

"Grrr," was the only reply.

They finally jumped back see that neither side was going to give. They stood about 10 meters from each other.

"What's your name?" Cara asked.

"My name is Escargo, I am one the elite guards of Lord Napo,"

"My name is Cara Cappadocia, I am the First Mate and Vice-Captain of the Arc Pirates,"

Escargo raised an eyebrow. The name Cappadocia sounded familiar to him. He would have to look into this later. Right now, this pest in front of him needed to be eliminated. He raised his spear once more and pointed towards his opponent. Cara did the same. It was tense, neither was willing to make the first move. Cara decided to take the initiative and dashed. Escargo did the same. They met in a clash once again.

* * *

-With Jaune and Maria-

"Do you think that Cara will be fine? That guy seems pretty tough," Maria said.

"Yep, I have no doubt in my mind that she will win," Jaune said.

"How do you know that?"

"Because Cara is a friend and my crewmate. That's why I am putting my faith in her. Not just her, but you and Flint," Jaune said with a smile. When Maria first joined Jaune's crew, she was still skeptical about him. She was sure that he was only a nice person on the outside and there was some twisted man inside. But she found nothing.

He really was someone that wore his heart on his sleeve. He didn't care to show what he felt and was an all-around nice guy. Although there are moments where he can be awkward, he is someone that is pretty good at communicating with others. This was her captain and she feels like she couldn't have one better than him.

They kept running until they came across someone else that seemed to be waiting for them. He looked exactly like the other person, except his color scheme was the opposite. In his hand was an exquisitely made sword.

"This is my stop I guess," Maria said. She drew Suigestu from his sheath and prepared herself. Jaune used soru to easily pass by the man. Said man was shocked that he couldn't even react fast enough to Jaune's speed. He was about to turn and go after Jaune, but was stopped by Maria.

Maria brought down Suigestu, which forced the man to block the attack. For someone of her size, she was pretty strong. They broke away and dashed at each other slashing and looking for an opening in their defenses. They separated once more.

"I sorry, I am fighting you when I don't even know your name. My name is Ficelle, one of the elite guards of Lord Napo," he bowed as he said this. Maria decided to give him the same curtesy that he gave her.

"My name is Maria, the cook of the Arc pirates," she said. "Let's get back to fighting." She pointed her sword at him. Ficelle didn't get a good look at her sword when they were fighting, seeing it now he began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Maria asked.

"That is not a sword. Do you really think that a fillet knife stands a chance against my blade, which was crafted by the finest of blacksmiths?" He said mirthfully. To him this was very laughable, but Maria's rage began to build.

This sword was given to her by the old man. This sword who has been with her for so long and has never failed her so far.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Maria growled. Ficelle stopped laughing, surprised by the change in her voice. "To think that you are better than me because of a fucking sword?"

She dashed at him with newfound speed fueled by anger and slashed at Ficelle. He brought up with sword to block, but was pushed back in the process. He was shocked at being pushed back so far by her. He looked at her and saw the expression of anger evident on her face. Ficelle decided to get serious. He got into a stance and steeled himself for the fight to come.

' _What is that knife made of?_ ' He thought. No fillet knife, no matter how big, should be able to withstand that much force.

Maria put both hands on the hand and went in for a side slash. Their clash began once again.

* * *

-Napo's study-

Napo had just finished his meal and was wiping his mouth. Always a good meal from the chef. He sat back in his chair and held his stomach. He looked around the large domelike room that was his study.

"It's good to be me," Napo said. The moment he said that his gold plated door crumbled and was kicked off the hinges. Some chunks went flying towards him. He panicked and narrowly avoided the chunks that came his way. Once there was no more debris flying around, he looked at the silhouette of a person at the door.

"Who the hell do you think you are to just barge in here?! Do you know who I am?!" He yelled. The person didn't seem to acknowledge and walked in. Napo finally got a good look at the person. It was a tall blond man and he didn't seem too happy.

"You're Napo right?" He asked.

"Yes, what of i-" he was cut off by a kick to the face. Napo was set flying from his seat and hit the wall behind him. He was clutching his face from the pain of the kick.

"The names Jaune Arc, and I'm here to kick your ass."

* * *

-With Finn and Flint-

They checked all the floors and heard the commotion on the top floors. They are now explorers the underground levels of the palace. They checked room after room, until they finally found something. They opened one room and found a room full of men, women, and children making clothes.

Flint knew everyone in this very room. He knew that Napo had something to do with the disappearances, but he never would have thought Napo would be cruel enough to do something like this. They look like they haven't slept in days, they were malnourished, and their hands were bandaged probably from how many times they have injured themselves. Flint's knuckles turned white from how hard he was clenching them. He was seething.

"Who are you and what are you doing down here?"

They turned around to see another guard. Finn was about to go take out the guard, but Finn beat him to it and punched him hard in the face. The wasn't strong like Finn's but it was enough to break the guards nose. Flint was about direct his rage onto the guard, but Finn stopped him. Finn walked over to the guard and grabbed him by the hem of his shirt.

"Are there any others down or in the palace? Don't lie to me, or else you won't like what I'm gonna do to you," Finn said with serious voice. The guard was already shaking.

"There are a few other rooms, I'll tell you where they are. J-Just don't hurt me," the guard whimpered out. That was easy. Finn let go of the guard and punched him in the face knocking him out.

"We need to get these people out of here Flint," Finn said. Flint nodded.

"Hey!" Flint yelled out. The people working flinched and looked up to see a stranger and someone that they recognized.

"Flint?" One person said.

"We're here to get you out. There are others that we need to get along the way, so drop what you are doing and come on," Flint said. Everyone got up and rushed towards the door. They were so happy to be able to get out of this hellhole. As Flint and Finn were guiding them out, there seemed to be someone that stayed behind.

"It really is you," a familiar voice said. Flint turned to see that it was Gelma. Flint's eyes began t fill with tears. He ran over to Gelma and gave him a hug, which he gladly returned. When Flint hugged him, Gelma violently cringed in pain. Flint backed away. He look Gelma over and that he had some bruises showing. He saw that his hands were dirty and had some fresh bandages that had blood on them.

"Sorry, I was just so happy to see that you were okay," Flint said.

"It's okay. It seems that you've made a friend," Gelma said looking at Finn.

"Well more than one, but I wouldn't actually say that we are friends yet. They are the reason that I wasn't able to make it so far."

"They seem like good people?"

"Yeah, they really are."

"Well we can catch up later, we should get going,"

"What is there to catch up on? You've only been gone for half the day."

"Shut up ya brat." Gelma started walking towards the door, but Flint hasn't moved yet.

"…Hey Gelma," Flint said.

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry about what happened. It's my fault that you got hurt and put here," Flint said.

"There is nothing to be sorry about. I protected you because I wanted to. I didn't want you to get punished for doing something that everyone was scared to do. While there were some repercussions, you showed that you are not someone that is going to back down on the things that are important to them. That's what really matters. Now let's get going."

Flint and Gelma walked out of the room and followed the seemingly growing crowd of people.

* * *

-With Cara-

Cara and Escargo have not hit each other once. After yet another clash they backed away. Escargo expression changed from neutral to a smirk.

"Your name sounded familiar and now I know why," Escargo said. Cara's eyes widened.

' _He knows!_ ' She thought.

"I am ashamed of myself for not seeing it earlier, but there was recently word going around that the princess of the kingdom of Cappadocia decided to go rogue and become a pirate," Esacargo began to laugh.

"I have a dream of being someone that can stand at the top with the strongest. My captain gave me the opportunity to follow through with that dream," Cara said. Escargo laughed even harder.

"You are a fool. To stand at the top with the strongest? You should look at the reality of the situation. We have been fighting for a good while, and we still haven't landed a hit on each other. There are people there stronger and faster. How can you beat them, if you can't beat me? Give up on this stupid ambition and go home. I will personally escort you."

Cara's hair shadowed her eyes as she listened to his words and then she thought back to a conversation that she had with Jaune.

* * *

-Flashback-

" _Have you ever had someone you care about not support your dreams?" Cara asked Jaune. They were relaxing on the deck of the ship. Nothing much was happening, so Cara decided to start a conversation with Jaune._

" _What brought this up? Did Finn or Maria make fun of you?" Jaune said sternly. He could be like a mother hen sometimes. Cara shook her head._

" _No it was them. The night I left with you, my butler, Yoppo, tried to stop me. He told me that what I was trying to do was only a fool's dream. That I would never get stronger. I've just been thinking about it. What if he's right? What if I can't do it?"_

 _Jaune hit Cara over the head._

" _Ow! What was that for?"_

" _This was something that my master did whenever I doubted myself. I used to have really low self-esteem and didn't think much of myself. There are still times that I don't think that I am good enoough, but now I catch myself whenever I do."_

 _Cara rubbed the sore spot on her head and waited for him to continue._

" _About what that guy said. Well he's right, it is a fool's dream," he said. Cara didn't expect for him to say that. She thought that he would support her and tell her that he's wrong._

" _But that is what makes it so great?"_

" _Huh?"_

" _Everyone has dreams and ambitions. There are the ones that have simple goals and then there are the ones who have dreams that seem downright insane. A lot of people fail at them, but those who have the drive can truly become something great. I bet there is someone out there that has a dream that is even crazier than mine."_

" _What if all the people around me start ridiculing me? I don't know if I'll be able to handle it," Cara said._

" _You will," Jaune said_

" _How?"_

" _Cause you're my First Mate and Vice-Captain. I will be there to support you when you feel like you can't keep going. When I was young, I really thought my dream was to become a hunter. I was never really the fittest and I didn't know a thing about the life of hunter. People in my town laughed at me and told me just to quit, but I never did. Even though it failed in the end, I followed through with it. Now I'm on this adventure with you guys and this is probably the happiest I've ever been."_

" _What I'm trying to say it that yeah we have crazy and stupid dreams, but that is what make them so much more meaningful. There are gonna be people that will make fun of all of us for it and that is why we have to defend not only our own dreams, but the dreams of our friends. You understand?"_

" _Yeah, I think I do. Thanks Jaune, I couldn't have asked for a better friend," Cara said._

" _Aww, your making me blush," Jaune said._

* * *

-End Flashback-

Cara smiled at the memory. She looked Escargo with newfound confidence in her eyes.

"Yeah, my dream is stupid, but it's the one that means the most to me. That's why I will surpass you right here and become stronger," Cara said.

Escargo stopped laughing and sighed.

"Foolish child, it looks like I will have to teach you the hard way," he said. Cara dashed towards with her spear in tow. Escargo raised his spear and went for a lunging strike, thinking that Cara will block it, allowing him to neutralize her.

Cara didn't raise her spear to block, instead she narrowly dodged the attack, which left a cut on her cheek. She finally raised her spear now she bypassed Escargo's defenses and went for a stab. Escargo quickly retreated backwards, but not without getting injured. On his left was a bleeding wound. His suit was ruined.

"That's it, no more holding back. I don't care if you are a princess, take my strongest attack!" He yelled. He blasted off and astonishing speeds and brought down a heavy slash that cut Cara diagonally. She was now bleeding heavily and was at one knee from the pain. Escargo smirked. He was impressed that she was still conscious. Not many are able to stay conscious after losing so much blood.

Escargo was brought out of his thoughts when he saw Cara standing back up and smirk at him.

"Is that all you got? I'll show you a real attack," she said. Escargo was a little bit scared. There was pool of blood around her, how was she was still conscious much less alive? This is not normal. He couldn't think about that right now because Cara was suddenly upon him only ten feet away. Escargo brought his spear to block, but it was broken by Cara's strike.

Did she just get stronger in this fight? Or was she just holding back. She flipped her spear and used the butt of the spear to deliver a flurry of barrages. Escargo couldn't anything and just kept going higher and higher, until the final hit sent him high into the air. Cara wasn't done. She crouched down and held her spear with both hands.

"True Spear Style: Tiger's Biting Wind!" She spun at high speeds, which generated wind force that traveled upwards. Escargo was hit by the wind. It was hot and felt like he was getting bitten all over by a ferocious animal. He looked down at Cara and for a second he didn't see a princess, he saw a dangerous beast. The winds pushed him all the way into the ceiling. When the wind finally died, he fell to the ground unconscious.

"I beat you and from here on out, I won't lose to anybody. Now, time to find some first-aid cause I'm feeling kind of woozy," Cara said. She now went off in search for some bandages.

* * *

-With Maria-

During the first part of the fight, Ficelle seemed to have had the advantage. He landed a few cuts on her, but that seemed to end. He decided to add in some verbal jabs that got to her, but that seems to have only made her angrier. He needed to get serious before he loses.

"Futomaki!" Maria yelled

Maria made a series of slashes that Ficelle was able to block. The attack didn't stop and soon his sword broke from the stress and Ficelle was cut all over. He was set flying with cuts riddled all over his body.

Maria sheathed her fillet knife and sneered at Ficelle.

"That's what you get for making fun of something precious to me jackass," she said. She walked away and went to look around the palace for anything that interested her.

* * *

-Back in Napolis-

The people in the town were going about their business. At the docks a Marine ship came and docked. Many marines came out of the boat and began marching towards the palace. The last person to come out of was the Marine captain.

"Alright men, let's get those no good pirates!" The captain yelled.

"Yeah!" The Marine's yelled.

* * *

-With Jaune-

Napo got up from the kick that he received.

"You'll pay for that," Napo said. Jaune just gave him the "come hither" gesture. This only served to make Napo angrier.

"I'll show you that you are messing with the wrong person," he said. Jaune didn't expect much from Napo, but it seems that even he has surprises of his own. Napo's skin began to turn green. His suit ripped due to his body changing in size. His legs grew larger and more muscular. His transformation was finally complete. He was a giant 7 ft tall green frog with a really long mustache.

Jaune was trying his hardest not to laugh, but he couldn't help it. Napo grew even angrier and jumped off at Jaune. The speed at which he did was insane. Napo brought his belly forward and hit Jaune hard and set him across the room. Okay, maybe this was not going to be so easy. Napo walked over to his desk where is iron club sat.

"I don't show people this form due to how disgusting it looks, so I'm going to have to kill you now," he grinned evilly. Jaune vanished and appeared close to Napo with an electrified kick. Napo seemed to know this and jumped to a part of the ceiling and jumped off quickly with his club and hit Jaune.

"I have the instincts of an animal. Do you really think that any of your attacks will hit me?" Napo laughed evilly.

"Ribibibibibibi! Ribibibibibibi!"

' _That is a really weird laugh,_ ' Jaune thought.

Napo jumped off again, until he started jumping all over the place.

"Prepare to die!" He yelled. He hit Jaune square in the abdomen and into the ground. He ground cracked from the strike. Napo was still bouncing all over the place. The speed at which he was going wasn't a problem, but it was how he wouldn't stay in one place. Jaune couldn't stop him by chasing him around that because he couldn't follow the randomness. He was going to have to be creative about this. Suddenly he was hit again by Napo's club. He was now on the floor coughing up blood. Weirdly enough, this brought back memories to his training.

* * *

-Flashback-

 _Jaune was sent sprawling to the forest floor once again by Mana._

" _That's it for today. You have gotten pretty good at the techniques that I have taught you, but you are still lacking," Mana said._

" _What am I lacking then?" Jaune asked._

" _You use them like all the other Marines and it's boring. You need to add some variety to it. You are already a smart kid, so I know that you can bring these techniques to another level," she said._

" _Really?"_

" _Just take the compliment Jaune,"_

" _Yes ma'am."_

* * *

-Flashback End-

Jaune hopped back to his feet. He got onto his hands and threw his body around, until his leg were continuing the motion. The momentum began to pick up.

"Rankyaku: Typhoon kick!" Jaune yelled. The blades of winds started coming off of Jaune's feet like ribbons and went around the whole room. Napo was still jumping around the room and but stopped when his club was sliced clean off by the attack that Jaune was creating. Napo jumped off a wall towards Jaune and had a clear path. Jaune expected this. He stopped his own attack and pushed himself off the ground with his arm. He positioned his body to deliver a heel drop.

"Dendo-Dendo no Hammer!" Jaune slammed his heel into Napo's head and sent him down onto the ground through multiple floors until he reached the first floor. Coincidentally Napo landed into front of Finn and Flint who were guiding the taken citizens out of the palace. He was naked and the only thing covering him was rock. Flint and the citizens looked at the beaten Napo as if it wasn't real.

"Yo!" Jaune yelled from above. They all looked up the hole and saw Jaune looking down at them. He decided to jump down.

"So Finn, find anything good?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah, we found this giant vault door on the second floor, but we couldn't open it," Finn said.

"Well lead the way, I think that I can open. Maybe we'll find Cara and Maria along the way," Jaune said.

"I'll the people back to town," Gelma said. "I'll see you back in town ya brat."

"Yeah, yeah," Flint answered.

Gelma and the people left to find the exit of the palace. The only ones left were Flint, Finn, and Jaune.

"Let's go steal some stuff," Jaune said. They began their walk to the second floor. Flint decided to walk besides Jaune.

"Hey I want to talk to you about something," Flint said.

"Sure, what do you need?" Jaune asked. '

"I was wondering if you'd be willing to take me along with you. I lived here for most of my life, but I want to go out and see the world and come back to tell stories of my own, and-"

"Sure," Jaune said.

"Jaune, you can't agree so readily to things like this," Finn said.

"I was actually going to ask him if he wanted to join," Jaune said.

"Really?" Finn and Flint said at the same time.

"Yeah, you seem like a great person and marksmen, so I thought why not," he said.

"Thank you, I won't let you down!" Flint said excitedly.

"Okay," Jaune said. He liked Flint's excitement.

They walked the rest of the way to vault. Once they made Jaune looked at it and whistled in astonishment.

"How rich is this guy?" Jaune asked himself.

"Well can you open it?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, just stand back." Finn and Flint stepped back. Jaune brought up his leg and did several kicks that produced blades of air. The blades went through the door completely. Jaune walked over to the door and pushed on it with his hand and the cut out of the metal door fell through.

They looked and saw a whole bunch of money and some treasure inside. It seems that money won't be a problem for a long time.

"We take twenty-five percent, while the town gets the rest. Deal?" Jaune said.

"Deal?" The two said.

"Hey guys!" The three boys turned and saw Maria and Cara walking towards them. There was huge cut diagonally across Cara's sweater and she seemed be bandaged up. Maria looked a little roughed, but seemed to be fine. In her hands was a bunch of cook books that she must have picked up.

"Hey guy, come help us with this," Jaune said.

Once Maria and Cara reach the door looked inside and saw what Jaune meant. Just by looking this, one could see that it was easily over half a billion berries.

"We're only taking twenty-five percent. The rest goes to the people," Jaune said once again. Cara and Maria nodded and they all went in to grab as much as they could. They stuffed what they could in the pockets that they had and walked outside the palace. When they reached the outside, they saw Marines blocking the way out. At the front was the Marine captain.

"My name is Ironhead, Captain of the Marines. You all have done heinous crimes and because that, it is my duty to bring you all in. I'll give you all a chance to surrender. If not, my men will open fire on all of you!" The captain yelled.

Suddenly, gunshots were rapidly fired. The guns in the Marines' hands were shot and effectively made unusable. They look at the source of the gun fire and saw Flint whose fingers were replaced by gun barrels with smoke coming out of them.

"Hmph," Flint smirked. Jaune was even more happy to have Flint on his crew. Now that the Marines were unarmed, they rushed towards them and beat them senseless. Jaune went for the captain and kicked him in the abdomen sending him flying. The others took care of the Marine soldiers. By the end of it, no one on the opposing side was conscious or so they thought. They heard the sound of a camera. They turned and saw a photographer shaking in his boots.

Jaune ran up to the photographer and grabbed him before he could run.

"Please don't hurt me!" the guy yelled.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Jaune said.

"Then what do you want?"

"I just wanted to know if I could see my bounty picture."

"You can't, they need to be processed and printed first,"

"Well that sucks. Then I'll tell you my name and who we are."

' _He better not call us the Leviathan Pirates,_ ' Finn, Cara, and Maria thought.

"We are known as the Arc Pirates and I am the Captain, Jaune Arc the Leviathan! Make sure that they put in the Leviathan part!" He yelled.

' _He really likes that name,_ '

"Jaune Arc…the Leviathan?" The photographer asked.

"Yep," Jaune said proudly. He has been thinking about this all day and thought this sounded the coolest. Jaune finally let go of the photographer.

"Okay…well bye," the photographer. After that, he quickly ran away. Jaune turned around.

"Let's get back to work," Jaune said.

' _At least the name wasn't lame,_ ' the three crew members thought. Flint was confused as to what happened.

* * *

-1 hour later-

It didn't take long for them to get their share of the money and put the Marines and Napo somewhere where they wouldn't bother anyone. The town was so thankful to them, that they gave them some supplies.

Jaune and Cara were on the ship waiting for everyone else. Jaune was just sitting around on the ship. Now that he had a crew name and a moniker, he needed a name for the ship. Cara in her room resting.

Maria was getting the food for their journey.

Finn was still at the Palace looking inside of Napo's study. He was looking in every space that he could, until he found it. Finn guessed that Napo was a person that would purchase many things that he would never use in his lifetime. The item that he found was one that is crucial to one's survival on the Grandline, a log pose. Finn decided to leave now that he got what he wanted.

Flint was back at the shop with Gelma saying his goodbyes.

"Here is the gun that Napo took. We found I when we were inside the vault," Flint said. He handed the beautiful pistol to his master. Gelma shook his head and pushed the gun back towards Flint.

"This is no longer mine. Take it with you, I'll guarantee you that it will be a great help and maybe a great teacher," Gelma said. Flint didn't understand what Gelma meant by teacher, but didn't care at the moment. They hugged each other. As they were hugging, Gelma heard sniffing.

"Let it out Flint. It's okay for a man to cry," Gelma said. After hearing that, tears came streaming down his face.

"I'm gonna miss you, you old fart," He said.

"I will too. You better come back, so we can trade our stories with each other. You got it?" Gelma said. Flint was crying to much to speak coherently, and so he nodded instead. They broke from their hug and Flint saw that Gelma was also crying.

"You better go now, I bet they are waiting for you," Gelma said. Finn nodded and began to walk towards the door.

* * *

-On the ship-

Jaune was happy. They weren't broke and food wouldn't be a problem for a while. Things were starting to look up. He was probably going to get a bounty to, which was awesome.

"Hey!" Jaune looked and saw his newest crewmate, Flint, running towards the ship. Jaune beckoned him to come aboard. Jaune told Flint where to put his stuff and then was once again left to himself when Flint went inside.

Soon after Flint had arrived, Finn himself came aboard.

"so did you find what you were looking for?" Jaune asked. Finn nodded and showed him.

"It's a log pose, it's the only tool able to navigate us through the Grandline. I think you can see why I was so frantic in finding one here?" Finn asked. Jaune nodded. He heard about the things that happen there from Mana. Those who were ill equipped would be punished for it.

"Well then, let's get ready to set sail shall we?" Jaune said. Finn nodded and they got to work.

* * *

-Kingdom of Cappadocia: The Grandline-

A nicely dressed butler was running towards a certain room down a corridor. In his hands was a piece of paper. Once he reached the door, he knocked frantically.

"Come in," a low voice said from the other side. The butler opened the door and saw that the room was dark. You couldn't see the man's face.

"What is it?" He asked with a dangerous edge to his voice.

"Your majesty, there are new bounties that are out and Yoppo just identified the man who took your daughter," the butler said.

"Then come here and show me," he said. The butler walked over to the desk that the man was sitting behind and put down the bounty paper. It was a picture of Jaune with a side view of him. The photographer took the picture at a moment that made him look menacing. The bounty on his head said twenty million berries. His crimes were battery against Duke Napo, stealing part of his fortune, and demolition of his property, assaulting Marines soldiers and Captains and the demolition of a Marine base.

He is a devil fruit user as well. It seems that he can generate electricity from his body and use it as a weapon. The danger also raised his bounty because of it. It seems that he got a moniker as well. The Leviathan. This name caused for the king to raise an eyebrow. He wondered how did someone like him know of a beast like that?

"Tell them to raise his bounty by 5 million. I don't care if he is alive or dead. He has been causing me a headache for a while now," the king said.

"What about your daughter? She also has a bounty on her head for 3 million?" The butler asked.

"And I should care why?"

The butler gulped. "I'm sorry your majesty, I will leave now," the butler said.

He stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. The king was still looking at the wanted poster of Jaune.

"Let's see how long you can survive Jaune Arc," the king said.

* * *

And that is the end of the chapter.

So Jaune and the crew are now becoming notorious. At the moment, Jaune's bounty is higher than Luffy's only because he pissed off the king of a country. This will change once they are in the Grandline. Jaune will become notorious himself, but their bounties won't be the same until they enter the New World.

In the next chapter, the crew will be heading to Lougetown to stock up on other necessities and to see the place the greatest man in the world die. They will be meeting up with the Strawhats. They won't be running into any new crew members for a while and will actually be making friends. If you have any questions or want to offer any suggestions PM me.

The updates will take longer because now I have go look through some arcs in One Piece so I don't get anything wrong.

See you in the next chapter.


	11. Chapter 11 Short

Hello

I'm back. My exams are over and now I have a six-week break. To get back in the swing of things, this is a short chapter that I wanted to add to a chapter, but it didn't seem right. This seemed like the perfect way to add it. This chapter is more or less, the inner workings of Cara.

Now that, that is out of the way,

Enjoy the short chapter

* * *

It is night time. Everyone is settled in asleep, except for Cara. Her room is dimly lit by a lantern she had lit to let her see. At the moment, she was polishing and cleaning her spear with loving care. As she polished her spear she was remembering the events of today. She and the others took down a duke and fought some strong opponents. She was getting stronger; she could feel it and that earlier today proved it. This all wouldn't have happened had she not left with Jaune.

She thought about the events of today, Jaune seems to have gotten some notoriety now and will probably get a bounty soon. She still doesn't know why he is so drawn to the name of Leviathan. It's sounds lame.

They got a new crewmate and he seems like a good person. Things were really looking up. She could say that she is happy to be on this adventure with her friends. That word still sounded weird to her. Friends. It made her feel happy. She never really had friends, only playmates that would visit the palace when she still lived there. Out of all of her playmates there was only one that she remembered. She wondered how they were doing right now.

' _I'll probably never see them again,_ ' she thought. She then thought back to the people on this ship. It seemed weird. It was almost like they were meant to come along and join this crew, like fate wanted for this to happen. This world is one that is mysterious and doesn't make any sense whatsoever, and it wouldn't get any better on the Grandline, if what Finn said is true. It made her somewhat nervous. She stopped her cleaning due to worry taking her mind, but that worry went away as fast as it came.

She wasn't alone. She had Finn, Maria, Flint, and Jaune with her. She also has her trusty weapon with her. She looked down at the spear in her hand. This spear was something else. She obtained this weapon only several months ago and it already felt like it was a part of her.

She thought back to the opponents that she has defeated with her weapon and what she was able to do. When used correctly, it was like a raging storm that was let loose upon those unfortunate to cross its path. It was like this spear was meant for her hands only. As she looked at the spear in her lap, she realized that she still hasn't done something really important.

She hasn't given it a name yet.

Thankfully, she already had a name in mind. "I'll name you Factus. In my native language, it means storm. How does that sound to you?" She said. She knew that she wouldn't get a response, but it never hurt to try. She stood up with the newly Dubbed Factus and set it somewhere where it wouldn't fall. She picked up her lantern and blew out the flame. She set it down and walked to her bed.

"Good night Factus. See you in the morning," she said before slowly started to fall asleep. What she failed to notice was the spear began to vibrate ecstatically.

* * *

And that is the end of the short chapter

I'm sorry about this chapter being short. In the next chapter the Arc pirates are headed to Louge town, the town of the beginning and the end. There they will meet an ambitious boy and his crew headed for the Grandline as well.

I'm sorry about how short the chapter is, but this was something I needed to write to get back in the groove of things and because it was important to the story. I don't know how frequent the updates will be, but I will try to post between one – two weeks. If you have questions, then PM me. If there is anything that I could do better at, tell me. I will try to answer back as fast as I can, although today will be a problem since I have to get my wisdom teeth removed. That's all.

See you in the next chapter.


End file.
